


Ride on Shooting Star

by Smashing_Successor



Category: Little Witch Academia
Genre: Cuddling, F/F, Spells & Enchantments, Stars
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-23
Updated: 2017-12-05
Packaged: 2019-01-04 11:23:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 30,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12167886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Smashing_Successor/pseuds/Smashing_Successor
Summary: Sucy spikes the tea. It goes as well as you'd expect.Written for Dianakko week.





	1. Chapter 1

In hindsight, Akko should've expected that Sucy would be the one to ruin everything. After all, the mistress of mushrooms had made it her life's mission to cause as much chaos in Akko's life as possible. That and one day finding a way to turn all forms of fungi sentient, but Sucy was still working out the kinks to that plan, so until then, she'd find ever more creative ways to drive Akko insane.

Maybe Akko was overreacting a bit, maybe. But seriously, out of everything to do at a tea party, who the heck would take the time and effort to spike the tea (Tea! Tea of all drinks!) with illicit substances? What witch in Luna Nova would go to such lengths and sink to such lowly lows?

Sucy, that's who.

Events leading up to the day had started off innocently enough. Hannah and Barbara had decided to throw a little sleepover slash tea party social to celebrate the end of mid-terms and Diana had graciously agreed to use their shared suite as the venue. Not a surprise, seeing as how they owned the largest room in the entire school and could stuff Akko and Co. into their quarters with plenty of room to spare. They sent invites to the other witches a week in advance, though it was more of a formality than anything; nobody in their right mind would turn down an invite to a tea party hosted by Diana's team. The promise of excellent food alone was enough to convince Akko. The only holdout was Amanda, who had to be persuaded beforehand into wearing acceptable sleepwear because according to Barbara, "look, you can sleep  _au naturel_  in your place but if you do that at our place, I will, like, literally, charm my eyeballs into stones. Think of the children! And Lotte!"

Other than that hitch, everyone was excited about the upcoming party, making the days leading up to it all the more excruciating. It took all of Akko's learned patience to just sit still in class and listen to the professor's lecture when all she wanted to do was bounce up and down in eager anticipation. Even Lotte, a studious witch by definition, had to make a visible effort to pay attention in class.

When Friday evening finally rolled around, Akko could barely contain herself. As soon as classes were over, she dashed back to her room, grabbed her things and dragged Sucy and Lotte over to the suite.

"C'mon you guys! Let's go, let's go, let's go! I haven't had anything to eat since lunch and Hannah said that Diana made those English pastry things again!"

"A-Akko, slow down. I'm sure there will still be plenty of food by the time we get there!"

"Fufufu, don't be so sure. Any food is fair game if Jasminka is there. Though if there is nothing left for you, I have this beautiful little bloodcap you could try…"

"Don't even joke about that Sucy." Akko rounded the corner and stopped in front of the door, shoving it open with her shoulder with a resounding bang. "All right, let's get this party started!"

After the initial complaints from her rowdy entrance had died down ( _doors exist for a reason Akko!_ ) and she had slipped into her comfortable pink pajamas with patterned bunnies, Akko made a beeline to the dining table and loaded her plate up with all the delicacies and pastries she could fit. Once that was done, she headed into the common room, where all the other witches were gathered.

She called out a cheerful greeting to Amanda, who waved back distractedly, attention focused on the game she was playing with Constanze on the spirit orb. Judging by Constanze's slightly upturned lips and Amanda's colorful language, the rebellious witch was losing spectacularly. Next to them, Jasminka watched with her customary cheerfulness, chewing contentedly on her own enormous plate of food that made Akko's look miniscule in comparison. Barbara had squirreled off with Lotte, and the two witches seemed to be discussing something with excited fervor, occasionally punctuated by a giggle as Hannah watched on bemused.

Hmm… Just one witch was missing from everything. Just where had Diana gone off too? Akko scanned the room again and… there! Sitting by the massive window, dressed in a modest, white nightgown and staring off into the distance, a ways removed from the rest of the party.

Well, that just wouldn't do! With a careful hop and a skip (she was carrying a massive plateful of food and tea after all, so just one hop, half a skip) she popped up behind the other witch and grinned mischievously.

"Boo!"

To Akko's disappointment, Diana didn't so much as flinch. "Good evening to you as well, Akko."

Akko pouted. "Awwww, how did you know?"

"Forgive my forwardness, but you aren't exactly the most subtle of people, Akko." Diana turned around, a small amused smile on her face. "That and I could see your reflection sneaking up on me."

Curses. Once again foiled by a reflective surface. Akko scowled. "Yeah well, maybe if the window wasn't so freakishly sparkly- holy Shiny Rod, your windows are super clean! You can see all the way back into the living room!" Akko sidled up to it, then thought better of it. Just breathing near it seemed to be a desecration to its all-out sparkly purity. If only the goblin cleaners were this thorough for her room. "Feel like you could drink one of Sucy's shremedies off it no problem."

"I'm afraid I can't speak from personal experience," was Diana's dry response. "And before you ask, please do not attempt to make it into a personal experience."

"Haha, funny." Akko stuck out her tongue at the teasing and Diana's lips quirked a fraction higher. "Don't laugh! I would never do something as crazy as drinking one of Sucy's shremedies!"

"Hm. I seem to recall an incident last spring involving Ms. Manbavaran and a room exploding with mushrooms?"

"Willingly! I would never WILLINGLY drink one of her shremedies!"

"My, such a distinction." Diana chuckled warmly, a rare sound. After a second, Akko's pout morphed into a grin, and she began giggling as well. They shared a laugh, just the two of them in their little corner of the room.

"Forgive me; I couldn't help but tease," Diana apologized after her laughter subsided, sitting down on the ledge. She motioned for Akko to follow suit. "It feels as though an eternity has passed since we last spoke."

"Well, duh, it's been like two eternities!" Which was true, for the most part. The blonde witch was notoriously difficult to pin down for Akko, caught up in all her extracurricular work for the student body. If she didn't know any better, she'd say Diana was avoiding her. "How are you holding up? School running you ragged?"

Diana shook her head, but Akko could see the bags underneath her eyes and the ever so slight slouch of her usually perfectly straight shoulders. "Not school, no. Though I do admit, I have been having trouble falling asleep as of late."

"What's up? Maybe I can help. Just say the word."

Was it Akko's imagination or did Diana's smile look just a tad forced? "I appreciate the offer," she said, with another light shake of her head, "but it's nothing you need concern yourself over. I have the situation under control."

Even Akko could see the apparent deflection for what it was. "But…"

"I'm fine, Akko. Really."

Okay, okay Akko could understand that Diana was unwilling to share what was keeping her up at night. She could respect Diana's wish for privacy, even if the refusal stung, just a tiny, wee bit. Akko could totally understand. Totally. One hundred percent complete and utter understanding.

"I don't believe you," Akko said bluntly, with a scowl. Diana visibly bristled and opened her mouth to say something but Akko held up her hand. "But I'm not gonna force you into telling me. Instead," here she took her own plate of food and pushed it onto Diana's lap, "I'm going to make you eat this entire plate."

Diana blinked, caught flat-footed. "Er…"

"And you're going to drink this tea too." She handed over her teacup. Diana took it, bemusement written all over her face. "Because tea's supposed to relax you or something like that, I think. And then I'm going to get another plate, this one filled with desserts because desserts make everything better."

"Akko, what on earth-"

"And then we're going to stuff our pie holes until you feel better because this is a sleepover and that's what friends do at sleepovers, eat tons of junk food and cheer each other up." That last part was an Akko addition to the definition of a sleepover, but Diana didn't need to know that. She stood up. "Cherry tarts are your favorite, right?"

"Yes. But Akko-!"

"Nuh uh, nope, not another word. I wanna see that plate sparkling like your window when I get back! Chop, chop, get to it!" With that, she left Diana on her own and made her way back to the dining table.

Sucy was manning the tea tray, handing out cups and saucers. Wordlessly, she offered one to her and Akko took it and threw it back, draining it in one scalding gulp.

"What's got you in a snit?" Sucy asked, eyebrow raised after Akko finished hacking up a lung. "It's tea, not soda."

It took another second before Akko was ready to answer again. "I'm not… being snitty," she coughed. What she wouldn't do for an ice cube right now. "Don't...even know what the...word means."

"Mhmm," went Sucy drolly. She handed Akko another cup, and this time, Akko had the mind to take it slower, blowing on it first. "It's Diana, isn't it?"

"Wha-no!" Sucy simply stared back at her, amusement flickering in her single eye and Akko crossed her arms. "Maybe. How did you know?"

She shrugged, seemingly disinterested in the current conversation. "She's your only friend out of all of us who can get you so riled up."

"Nuh uh. One time, Amanda borrowed the Shiny Rod to use as a paperweight without telling me. I didn't speak to her for a week afterward."

"We both know that Amanda is a particular kind of reckless," Sucy countered in her raspy monotone, "and we both know that you don't think of Amanda in the same way you think of Diana."

Before Akko could ask what that meant, Sucy shoved another cup into her hands. "By process of elimination that leaves only Ms. Perfect. So... what's she done to get you in a snit?"

Akko sighed, taking a sip. "I'm not in a snit. Well, I am, I guess. Not at her, but at myself. I'm snitty for being snitty at myself. Does that make sense?"

"Adjective butchering aside, sure. Why not."

"Like, something's bothering her, and it's super obvious, but she won't tell anyone just what it is. And I get that, and that's her own business, and I shouldn't snoop into it. But then I get...snitty because she doesn't want to tell me what's wrong and I just wanna help her out, but I don't know how to except to force her to eat a ton of cherry tarts. Speaking of which, where are they?"

Wordlessly, Sucy handed her a tray, packed to the edges with tarts, and another teacup. "Thanks, Sucy." She took one and popped it into her mouth. "Dif tha' ma'e any f'ense?"

"Again. Sure. Why not."

She swallowed. "I thought so. Thanks for listening to my spiel. I'm feeling better already."

"It was funny watching it all, so..." She shrugged and held up another teacup. "Refill?"

"Nah, I'm good. Still haven't finished the one earlier." Akko raised the cup to her lips, then paused as a sudden thought crossed her mind. "Actually, why are you handing out the tea, Sucy?" she asked, taking a sip. Mmm, now that she had a chance to savor it, this was some pretty good tea! Lemony, with a citrusy twist. Barbara had good taste!

"Oh, I got bored, so I spiked one of the cups with LoveLove venom," Sucy shrugged again, a little helplessly. "But I lost track of which one, so I've been handing them out to make sure everyone has a fair chance. Nobody's professed their undying love just yet, but the night's still young."

"Ah gotcha, gotcha." Akko took another sip- " _Pfffffttt- You did_ _ **what?!**_ "

"I really hope that wasn't the cup, for the sake of tonight's entertainment."

"No- what.  _Suuuuuucy_!" Akko grabbed at her hair and pulled. Oh this was bad. This was very very super ultra magic-missile-propelled-by-hate-and-forbidden-science levels of bad. "Whyyyyyy? Why would you do something like that?!"

"Call it a social experiment," Sucy said, and then smiled, a wicked grin that showed off more canines than Akko thought possible. "But mostly to mess with you. Remember how popular you were at the Hanbridge's ball?"

Gosh, if this sleepover turned into anything like the Hanbridge's ball… Akko felt a cold shudder run across her back. She smacked Sucy's hand, who had been preparing another tea cup, and tore her away from the table. The aloof witch went along willingly enough, damage already done.

"I'm going to sit you next to Lotte and you're not gonna do anything else for the rest of the night except twiddle your thumbs and be on your best behavior." Which would be a feat in of itself, considering Sucy's penchant for mischief.

"Sure," agreed Sucy. "But more importantly, how're you feeling right now?"

Akko paused, then turned around to consider her friend. Sucy stared right back, visible eye half-lidded and looking bored.

"I'm not getting the urge to profess my undying love to you or anyone else in the room if that's what you're asking."

"Drat," and Sucy really did sound disappointed that her scheme had yet to come to fruition. "I was hoping you'd be the one, knowing your luck and all."

"Well sorry to disappoint," grumbled Akko. Secretly, she agreed with Sucy's assessment. Knowing her luck, she had dodged a bullet. "Wait, why am I even saying sorry!" She turned around and began marching Sucy in front of her. "You should be the one apologizing to everyone for spiking the tea."

All Sucy did was chuckle, in that raspy way of hers that made her sound like a mad scientist straight from a Saturday morning cartoon. "Are you sure that's the best idea?"

Akko frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Think about it. Your friends, all gathered here, relaxing and enjoying their evening after a long and grueling midterm. And then suddenly, you come in and drop the bombshell, that someone has spiked the tea with LoveLove venom. Enter, panic and pandemonium, stage right." A slow grin began to form on Sucy's face, her thoughts caught in the rapture of the chaos and entirely oblivious to Akko's own horrified expression. "Suddenly, friend can no longer trust friend, for who knows which one is the infected? Bonds of trust are broken, eyes gouged out in fear of what may happen, and every reflective surface in the room shattered as a preemptive measure for the horror that is to come!" Her voice had risen to an uncharacteristic crescendo, truly horrifying in its mad passion. "Anarchy at its purest form!"

Well, when she put it like that…

As absurd as it sounded, there was a grain of truth in the mad witch's assessment. Maybe not to the grand scale Sucy hoped, but there would definitely be some mild panicking. And Akko was hardly looking forward to being the bearer of bad news, especially tonight when everyone had come to relax and enjoy each other's company.

But what could she do?! Last time she had broken the curse by killing the stupid LoveLove bee. But there was no bee this time, just its venom and Sucy's diabolical scheme. Akko grimaced, completely stumped.

Maybe the LoveLove effect wouldn't work without the bee? Then again, risking everything on that assumption could only go splendidly. And knowing Akko's luck…Maybe an anti-venom instead? That could work, but there was no way in hell that Akko knew how to brew an anti-venom. But somebody had to, right?

Think, just who had the expertise and knowledge to brew a potion of that caliber? Asking a teacher was out of the question as the repercussions would be an eternity of detention. Professor Ursu- Char-URSULA could probably do it but the last thing Akko wanted to do was add more to Professor Ursula's plate when student grades were due so soon. So if not Professor Ursula, that left only…

"Change of plans. We're not gonna tell anybody. I'm going to get Diana."

"Oh?" Sucy's grin seemed to grow even wider, if it was at all possible. "And what does Diana have to do with anything?"

"None of your beeswax." With that, she marched Sucy into the living room, where everyone else was gathered around in a small circle, and sat her down next to Lotte. "You are not to move from that spot for fear of my fury."

"I'm quaking in my boots." Succy drawled, drier than the Wagandean forest.

"Zip it you" Akko turned to Lotte, who was watching the exchange with a confused expression. "I am leaving Sucy in your care while I go fix up her mess. Do not, under any circumstances, let her near the desserts."

Understanding flashed across Lotte's face. "Code Kinoko?"

"Upgraded to Code Mushroom Cloud as of a minute ago," said Akko as Sucy bristled indignantly ( _wait you have danger levels for me but not Akko?_ ) "I'll let you know if anything changes." Lotte gave her a solemn thumbs up.

With that, she scurried back to the window that Diana was sitting at. When she got there, for some reason, Diana had her face in her hand, exuding an odd sense of exasperation. Another time, Akko would have been curious but there were more pressing matters at hand.

"Diana Diana Diana, I need your help!"

The blonde witch flinched, quickly looking up. "Akko? What's the matt-?" was all she got out before Akko interrupted.

"Okay, before you get mad, this was all Sucy's fault, just so you know, so I don't deserve detention but Sucy does because she managed to spike one of the teacups with LoveLove venom but she lost track of which one and I need your help into making an anti-venom because you're the only one who knows this kinda stuff and we need to do this like, super sneakily so no one panics and I really, really, really need your help." Akko took a huge breath. "Please?"

Diana blinked. There was an odd twitch underneath her right eye that Akko took as a very bad sign.

"Great! Let's get cracking then!" Before Diana could say anything else, Akko grabbed her hand and pulled her along as they made their way to the exit.

"Hey Akko!" Amanda called out to her as they passed the living room. She beckoned to the spot next to her. "Sit down; we were just about to start playing Spin the Wand!"

"Sorry, I gotta talk to Diana for a second!" she called back, already moving away from the group and completely missed the smug smirk Amanda was sharing with everyone else. "Rain check, yeah?"

Once they were out in the hallway, she let go of Diana's hand and turned away from her, ideas racing through her head.

"Sooooooo, we're probably going to need to sneak into one of the empty classrooms to brew this. I can get us in, no problem, but I'm not sure how we're going to get a cauldron in without making a whole lotta noise. Oh, but if a professor does catch us, you can just tell them that you caught me making a late night potluck with stuff I stole from the kitchen. I know what I said earlier, but one more detention isn't going to kill m-"

She was cut off when something warm placed itself on her back, followed by an unfamiliar weight that smelled vaguely flowery resting on the back of her neck. Huh. Was that...lilac? Whatever it was, it smelled nice. Nice enough for Akko to forget that Diana was currently-

" _Bwah?!_ " came Akko's eloquent reaction because, if she wasn't mistaken, Diana, Diana, of all people, was... nuzzling her.

_NUZZLING._

Diana Cavendish, star pupil, brightest witch at Luna Nova, proper to a razor point, was nuzzling her like a forlorn puppy.  _HER._

_She's pretty warm for wearing just her pj's,_  was Akko's first thought and then a mental double-take because, hullo, where did that spring from?

Aloud, she managed to stammer out, "U-uhh, D-Diana, I, uh-umm…"

She was saved from saying anything else when the other witch let out a noise, a cross between a sigh and a whimper that sent trills down Akko's spine. When she spoke, her voice was barely above a whisper, the words tickling her cheek.

"H-how does the expression go? Third… third t-times the charm?"

It took Akko a second to parse just what Diana had said. When it finally registered in her brain, her eyes widened in realization and- "Oh, crud."

Gently, she pulled herself out of Diana's space and turned to face her. As soon as she moved, the other witch crossed her arms over her stomach, a gesture that was completely out of place for the typically confident witch. There was a noticeable flush on her normally pale cheeks and Akko could hear Diana's breathing coming out in short, unsteady puffs.

The dead giveaway though was the intense look in Diana's eyes: pure, unfiltered yearning.

Heat shot through Akko's chest and her heart decided at that moment to skip a beat entirely, for reasons unknown. Somehow, she managed to speak over the pounding and croak something out.

"O-oh man. I don't know if you're either super lucky or super unlucky." Because, seriously, what were the odds of Diana being struck not once, not twice, but three times by the sting of the LoveLove? Practically astronomical at this point.

"If it's you, I would count it as a blessing from the stars," said Diana promptly. Her eyes widened and then she groaned, turning away from Akko, who had turned just as flushed as her. "M-my apologies, that was untoward of me."

Actually, it was just a little charming, judging by how Akko's traitorous heart decided to skip another beat, though she'd never admit it out loud. "I-it's okay, it's- whatever." Akko coughed and then giggled nervously. "I guess we don't need to make that anti-venom now, huh? You'd think you'd develop a tolerance to it by now."

That got Diana to let out a shallow chuckle that sounded just as nervous as Akko's. "P-perhaps I am. I feel...somewhat more composed than the previous time." She grimaced, then sighed. "Though that isn't saying much."

"Hey, progress is progress." Akko glanced back to the door, where the sounds of the sleepover could be heard. "I guess you don't want to go back in there?"

"To quote a wise mage, 'I would prefer not to.'"

And that meant asking the professors for help was out of the question too. Akko bit her lip, considering her options, which were few and far between. After a second, she clapped her hands, startling Diana.

"Okay, so here's what we'll do. You don't seem as bad as last time so I'll take you to my room and we'll just ride the venom out and let your body recover by itself." When Diana was silent, Akko felt compelled to add, a tad defensively, "I know, it's not the best plan, but it's the best one I could come up with right now."

"Oh, n-no, that isn't…" Diana began, then stopped. The blonde witch, seemed more than a little surprised, judging by the look on her face. When she spoke next, her voice was uncharacteristically timid and completely at odds with her usual assured self. "Wouldn't you prefer to spend time with your friends rather than looking after me?"

"Hey, you're my friend too! And it's not like we can't have our own sleepover either. I mean, we're already dressed for the part. The only thing we're missing is the food, but I've got Witchflix on my orb so it's not like we're going to be bored. Besides, it's my fault as well, kinda, that you're in this mess."

At that, Diana's expression turned confused. "What makes you say that? You had no hand in 's scheming from what I know of."

Akko put a hand on her hip and used the free one to brush her hair back like the women in those shampoo commercials, which admittedly would've worked better if her hair was longer. Still it got the point across as she put on a haughty tone and declared, "No, it's totally my fault for being so  _irresistible_."

The eye-roll along with the exasperated smile was exactly the reaction Akko was hoping for. "Half of me would like to agree with you," she said and Akko fist pumped. "The other half would like to compliment you on your modesty."

"Details, details." Akko turned around, already feeling better with a plan in place. "Well then, let's go!"

She began walking forward, stopping only when she realized that Diana wasn't following her. Quizzically, she turned around. The other which remained in the same spot, looking at the ground.

"Diana?"

The other witch twitched and seemed to arrive at some conclusion as she glanced back at Akko. "B-before that… would you mind terribly if we…" her voice petered out. She seemed half-torn, half chagrined by whatever she was asking. Akko leaned in closer.

"Sorry, say that last part again?"

The bridge of Diana's nose turned pink. "... _mindterriblyifweheldhands_?"

It took a second for Akko to understand the rushed sentence, another second for all the blood to rush back to her own face and turn a similar shade of pink. "I uh…" Akko tugged at the collar of her t-shirt. When did it get so warm all of a sudden? "S-sure. R-ride out the venom and all that, r-right?"

Diana muttered something, maybe a confirmation, it was hard to tell, and Akko decided not to push it. Instead, she clumsily stuck out her left hand, the same time Diana stuck out her left hand as well. "Ah, sorry." "Sorry," they muttered at the same time, embarrassment evident in their voices, before both changing to the right hand. "Oh, sorry" "No, that's my bad- I mean…"

Akko couldn't help the giggle that escaped from her throat and Diana flushed further. "This is ridiculous," she muttered. Instead of waiting for another slip-up, she simply reached out and grabbed Akko's opposite hand. "There."

That should've been the end of that, except Akko's mouth decided to drop its filter at that moment and remark, "Your hand's really soft."

The pink on Diana's cheeks that had been receding suddenly flared back into existence.

"I-I mean, i-i-it's soft as in, you know...soft!" Excellent save. A wonderful way to salvage that sentence. Akko cleared her throat before she could shove more of her foot into her mouth. "Anyway, l-lets go!"

"W-wait, Akko, don't- not so quickly! Akko!"

* * *

In the short amount of time it took to get back to Akko's dorm room, the two witches managed to avoid any other interactions, human or otherwise, apart from the brief scuffle with a minotaur janitor on the third floor. He had looked up from the floor he was mopping, seen the two dressed in their nightwear and holding hands, and simply let out an amused snort before continuing, leaving the two once again red-faced and thoroughly mortified.

"Herbie's a good guy!" Akko reassured Diana, stopping in front of the door to her dorm. "I know him; he's not going to tattle us to the teachers for breaking curfew."

"The quality of his character is the least of my worries," muttered Diana and privately, Akko had to agree. "Just… let's not tarry any longer than necessary."

"Right, right. Lemme just get the...key…" she let go of Diana's hand and dug into her pockets. "It's… somewhere here-hah!" With a flourish, she drew out the key and stuck it into the lock. "Make yourself at home. Pull up a seat!"

Diana glanced around the room, looking for said seat. Akko's bed was a jumble of notebooks, old clothes and random knick-knacks she had accumulated over the school year. Sucy's side was slightly better, but the formula jars and mushrooms surrounding the frame gave it a wholly foreboding look. Only Lotte's bed was remotely made and tidy, the single bastion of order in a sea of chaos.

Whoops. Probably should've cleaned the room beforehand. Then again, Akko hadn't been expecting a guest anyways. She let out an awkward chuckle. "Ahahaha… right. Um, hang on." She dashed to her bed, kicking the old clothes onto the chair, and shoving everything else beneath the desk to deal with later. The sheets were another matter and she smoothed them out as best she could. Thank the Olde Nine that she at least had changed them last week. "Sorry about the mess. It's uh, not usually this bad."

Diana, who had been gingerly lowering herself onto Akko's bunk, paused. "Really."

"Okay, fine, it's usually worse- don't laugh!" Akko huffed as Diana covered her mouth to stifle her chuckles. "I've just been busy with mid-terms and everything!"

"My apologies," said Diana, still smiling and Akko decided to forgive her, if only for how relaxed she looked at the moment, eyes curiously exploring the room as she settled against the headboard. "It's… charming. Really." she assured in response to Akko's suspicious glance. "It's all very reminiscent of you."

"And that's a good thing?"

"How could it not be? I find you utterly bewitching, after all."

An utterly smooth delivery too, which was completely ruined by Diana's stutter on the last word, followed by the abashed head turn half-way through the sentence.

Butterflies erupted in her stomach and Akko had to duck underneath the bedframe because she knew, just knew, that her stupid face was red again after that compliment. "Y-yeah, well, you're just saying that because of the LoveLove venom," she muttered, poking around the bottom of her bed for her orb.

There was a pause. And then, Akko heard Diana mumble something and… Akko frowned. Was it her imagination or did she sound oddly disappointed? Before she could question it, however, her fingers brushed against the smooth surface of her spirit orb.

"Aha! I knew I still had it!" Akko straightened triumphantly, orb in hand. Hopefully, the dust hadn't rendered the spirit inert. She have it an experimental tap and sighed in relief when it flickered into life. She plopped down on the bed at Diana's feet and set the orb down between them.

"I think I still have my Witchflix subscription… Yep. Any preferences?"

Diana scooched closer to her and Akko did her best not to jump at the sudden movement. The lilac scent was there again and Akko had to resist the urge to inhale deeply because that could only go  _so_  well.

The blonde witch scrolled down the list, eyebrows rising at the recommended section. "'Night of the Living Toadstool,' 'Fungi Ate My Neighbors?' 'Pride, Prejudice and...Puffballs?'"

"How did Sucy even get my password?" Akko groaned, taking the orb and deleting everything in the history. "Ignore that."

"Well, in any case," Diana pushed the orb back to Akko. "While my repertoire of English classics is acceptable, I'm afraid my knowledge of cinema is rather lacking. I shall leave it to your recommendation."

Akko considered for a second, trying to think of a movie that would satisfy her and Diana's tastes. "Hmmm, well… how about," she went to her favorite's list and pulled up a movie, "' _Jiji and the Rising Wind_?' It's about a witch who wants to make the best broom in the entire world and runs a delivery service in her downtime. It was my favorite growing up because it has a little of everything in it. Plus, it's got a super cute kitty in it. Bonus points."

"Bonus points, indeed," Diana remarked with an amused smile. "I have no objections."

"Great!" She clicked on the image and made herself comfortable against the wall, next to her Shiny Chariot poster, before noticing that Diana had yet to move back. "What's up? D'you need more pillows?"

Diana coughed. "N-no, but..." her voice trailed off and she simply held out her hand instead, studying intently the color of Akko's sheets.

Right, LoveLove venom and physical contact… to make it better. Right. "O-oh. S-sure." Slowly, she threaded Diana's fingers with hers, managing to keep her mouth shut this time. Still  _really_  soft though. "H-how's that?"

Instead of looking alleviated, the other witch bit her lip in response, a very un-Diana gesture if Akko ever saw one. "I-I was thinking… now that we've been afforded s-some privacy, that we may- that is to say…"

Akko waited bemused, as the star pupil of Luna Nova tripped over herself in her explanation. The hand in hers was making nervous circles around and around the back of her palm. "Yeah? What are you thinking?"

"That is...to say, might we...embrace, instead?"

It took a second for Akko's mind to translate Diana's stilted speech and then another second to understand what she wanted.

And then another second for her brain to repair itself because Diana wanted to  _what?!_

"Oh. You mean, uh," her voice broke embarrassingly on the last syllable and she coughed to clear her throat. Natural, act natural! You're helping out a friend, your best friend who's not totally in her right mind and is just as embarrassed as you are. Besides, it's for a good cause. Natural!

"You w-wanna...cuddle?"

Diana winced. "N-nothing so infantile- oh, forget I said anything."

"N-no! It's cool, it's cool. Just, uh, gimme a sec."

Despite it being her request, Diana was surprisingly skittish as Akko scooted closer to her. When Akko gingerly lowered herself into Diana's lap, the other witch flinched, then stiffened, like a doe caught in the headlights. A pair of arms jerkingly made their way around Akko's waist where they hovered a fraction over her skin.

Despite her own nervousness, Akko couldn't help herself. She snorted. "This is like, how a textbook would describe what cuddling is."

The blonde witch flushed even further in response. "D-despite my current affliction, I would rather you not feel… uncomfortable by my advances."

"Sweet Shiny Rod, even your sentences are a textbook. You know what's uncomfortable? Hover-handing. Here." Akko grabbed Diana's arm and secured them snugly over her waist. "There we go! Now this is cuddling. Snug as a bug in a rug."

Looking over to Diana, the other witch looked ready to about die of mortification. Akko was too, but at the same time, seeing another side of Diana, one that was surprisingly cute, was enough for her to grin brightly through her own mortification.

"A-are you sure you're not uncomfortable?" Diana asked again, still doubtful.

Akko rolled her eyes. "Yes for the bazillionth time," she said, nestling further into Diana's arms. "It's not bad. Just… different."

Diana hesitated, and then asked softly, "Different... in a pleasing way?"

And holy Nine Olde Witches on high was Akko not ready for the vulnerable look that Diana gave her, a look that made the butterflies in her stomach turn into fire. "D-different in a way that makes me think you have the makings of a great cuddler!" she fumbled because right now, she wasn't sure of the answer to Diana's question herself. "A-anyway, let's start the movie!"

Watching the movie turned out to be a mental exercise in of itself. For the first half, Akko was hyper-aware of Diana's every movement. Every time she shifted just a fraction, Akko would stiffen and the two would end up whispering apologies to each other under their breaths. It didn't help that Diana was just so…  _warm_. Seriously, it was like being cuddled by the fluffiest of clouds and very distracting.

Towards the latter half though, the two of them managed to relax and start paying attention to the story. At the part where the main character had to choose between following her dreams or returning home to say one final farewell to her sick husband, Akko felt herself tearing up. She couldn't help it; she always, always, teared up at that part. She sniffled and rubbed at her nose.

Gentle hands reached up and with only a brief moment of hesitation, tenderly thumbed at her eyes. Surprised, Akko looked up, still nestled in the other witch's embrace, just in time to see Diana turn away.

"O-oh. T-thanks…"

Diana hmm-ed, a strange catch in her voice. She spoke, still facing away from Akko. "Perhaps we might watch something else?" she suggested.

"Why? You don't like it?"

"Not per se." At Akko's inquisitive silence, she reluctantly added, "I dislike seeing you so downtrodden."

There was genuine concern in her tone as opposed to the awkward flattery earlier, and it made Akko smile. Apparently, being considerate was just ingrained into her character.

"I'm fine, really. I always cry at this part. It gets better, I promise."

"If you say s-so," Diana said, trying to come off as skeptical. Akko, however, noticed the catch in her voice on the last word and she grinned slyly as she realized something.

"Diana, are you crying too?"

The other witch flinched, confirming Akko's suspicions. "P-perish the thought. The glare was merely upsetting my eyes."

"Uh huh, right, right. You know what we do to witches around here who aren't being honest and need cheering up?" Before Diana could respond, Akko surged forward, fingers ghosting along Diana's sides. "Tickle attack!"

Diana squeaked in surprise, a thoroughly undignified reaction from a thoroughly dignified figure as she tried in vain to twist away. "N-no, Akko- haha! No, hah, A-Akko, y-you pest! C-cease thi-ahah! S-stop!"

"Not until you're honest with your feelings! Admit you that you got sniffly! Admit it!"

"F-fine! I was- ahaha! I a-admit to b-becoming emotional! Hahahaaappy?"

Akko paused, pretending to consider it, as Diana continued to giggle weakly. "It'll do. You may live."

"S-such generosity," panted Diana, sitting up. Her hair was a wild mess, framing her red face and eyes that sparked still with mirth.

"You know me, bleeding heart and everything. Now scoochie." She moved to the headboard and pushed Diana down along the bed. "It's clear that you're the one who needs the cuddles, not the other way around."

"O-oh, no, I assure you-"

"Nuh uh, not another word!" With some shifting and strategic maneuvering, she placed her back on the headboard, resting Diana's head on her stomach and wrapped her own arms snugly just below the blonde witch's collarbone. "There we go! Optimal cuddling position achieved."

From her current vantage point, Akko only had a view of Diana's blonde mane and some of her cheek, which was still red, though for an entirely different reason now. "You are absolutely incorrigible, you realize?" said Diana, half exasperated, half fond.

"I'll take that as a compliment. Now shush, we're coming to the good part!"

They watched the rest of the movie in relative, warm silence. The tears came back near the end, yet Akko still managed to hum the ending theme as Diana tried in vain to discreetly wipe away her own tears with the back of her wrist. When the final credit scrolled to the top, the two fell completely silent. They watched the orb glow for a second longer before dimming into black, leaving the two of them in total darkness.

Diana still hadn't moved from her grip. Idly, Akko wondered if the LoveLove venom had run its course. Aloud, she whispered, "So. What'd you think?"

The blonde witch made a contemplative noise. "It's strange," she whispered slowly. "I am left with conflicting feelings of melancholy mixed with contentment. Bitter and sweet, all at once."

"Five stars?"

"Undoubtedly." And Akko didn't need her vision to hear the smile in Diana's voice. "I can see why you enjoy it so. The parallels you share with the main character are uncanny."

"Really? Oh, you mean the part where Jiji lost her magic and had to find a way to bring it back." Akko thought about it. "A little, I guess. Though the same thing happened to you, didn't it? And besides, Jiji's more like you. Smart and brave."

"I disagree. Her perseverance and ingenuity can only be likened to you."

"What? No way! Don't you remember the scene where she saved the boy from falling off the tower? All cool and composed, like, no sweat and then flying off into the sunset? And-and that one part where she dueled the pirate captain in the air like a fencing pro with her wand? Totally you!"

There was a long pause, long enough that Akko was beginning to wonder if she had somehow offended her when Diana suddenly chuckled. "You never cease to amaze me Akko. Anyone else would be hard-pressed in finding any similarity."

"Hey, I'm just saying what I think."

"I know. And that's what makes it all the more astounding. Your honesty in what you believe is just...astounding."

Akko felt herself grow warm at the praise. Compliments from Diana, while rare and far between, were always genuine. Hastily she tried to deflect. "So wait, are you saying that you're not a nice person? Because I can tell you, you're like, the nicest person I know. Well after Lotte," Akko amended. "Nobody can beat Lotte. But you're a solid second."

But Diana only shook her head. "Being genial can be easily affected. But you… you're honest to a fault. What you show of yourself is genuine and you believe in that same honesty with everyone you meet, no matter their shortcomings."

Now it was Akko blushing furiously. Silently, she thanked the darkness at hiding the most of her red face. "L-laying it on a little thick, dont'cha think?"

"How could I be when it's the truth?" countered Diana. "That is your magic Akko. Your absolute faith, not just in yourself, but in everyone else as well," she sighed a little before adding almost as an afterthought, "It's just one brilliant part of why I love you so."

Akko froze. Diana must've realized what she had just admitted in the darkness of the room for she felt her physically stiffen in her arms.

_Calm down_ , Akko thought to herself, willing her heart to stop the painful beat in her chest,  _she doesn't mean it. That's the LoveLove sting making her talk like that. She doesn't mean it. Doesn't mean it._

That didn't make the sting any less painful though.

"Y-yeah, I guess I am pretty lovable, huh," she forced a laugh, the best one she could with the strange lump in her throat. Even to her, it sounded hollow. "Pull the other one while you're at it."

She expected Diana to take the opening, to relax and counter with a dry rejoinder.

"I wasn't joking," was what she quietly said instead.

Akko's heart flew into her throat and she had to struggle to squash it back down. "Diana, it's okay," she whispered back in what she hoped was a reassuring voice. "You don't have to protect my feelings like that. I know it's the LoveLove in you doing the talking."

Diana shifted, moving so that Akko could tell she was trying to look her in the eyes. Just sort of face was she making now? Akko could only imagine.

"But that does not make my feelings any less real, does it not?"

Akko swallowed thickly. Jeez, why was Diana making it so hard to let it go? There was almost a hint of desperation in her voice and... something else that Akko refused to think about.

"Cut it out, Diana." It was meant to be light, but the lump in her throat turned it harsher than she intended. "What about in the morning then, huh? Are you going to be saying the same thing or singing a different tune?"

Silence from Diana.

Mentally, Akko berated herself. Stupid.  _Stupid_. She was here to make Diana feel better, not worse! Way to go. "That was mean, sorry," she muttered after a painful silence. Her eyes had adjusted well enough now that she could make out Diana's blonde mane. Akko placed her hand over Diana's, a peace offering and truce. "You don't have to answer that."

There was an even longer pause before the silence was finally broken. "No… no, you were-are right," said Diana, subdued, but she took the offered hand, weaving their fingers together and Akko felt herself smile a little. "I overstepped my boundaries. I apologize."

"It's alright."

"It isn't," insisted Diana stubbornly and despite the seriousness of it all, Akko had to roll her eyes. Trust Diana to play the willing scapegoat until the bitter end. Before Akko could comment though, she added quietly, "But thank you anyways, Akko." She hesitated briefly before asking, "The morning, come what may. But might... we still have tonight to ourselves?"

"You don't even have to ask twice. C'mere." Gently, she tugged Diana up to the pillow and hugged her, burrowing her face just below the blonde witch's chin. "I think we both could use some cuddling right about now."

That got a small chuckle out of Diana, as she wrapped her arms around Akko's shoulders. "I don't disagree. Thank you, Akko. And good night."

"Good night."

* * *

Only sometime later, when she heard Diana's breathing even out into slumber, did Akko pull out of the embrace. She stared back at the slumbering witch, noticing just how much more peaceful she looked in her sleep. And pretty.

Okay, so there really wasn't any point left in denying her little crush anymore.

"Ya know, you're a lot more trouble than people give you credit for," Akko whispered. She poked indignantly at Diana's blonde mane. "Everyone else see's a grade A honor student, top of the class and untouchable." She scoffed quietly. "You know what I see? A witch who got stung by a LoveLove three times. Three! Once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, but three is like, purposely sticking your hand into the hive or something."

Part of her had known far beforehand that she was falling for the blonde witch. It had been a gradual thing, small enough that Akko could effectively ignore it or convince herself that it was Diana simply being the kind-hearted person that she was. Tonight, though, had pretty much thrown any semblance of Akko's denial out the window.

"You make it really hard for me to say it when you've already done it twice, even if they don't really count. So not fair, by the way." Akko smiled, twisting a golden curl around her finger. "Plus… I think you got it mixed up. You're the one that's brilliant. I'm just…" she trailed off, staring at Diana's back, smile fading into the dark.

"I'm just Akko."

Complete silence, only punctuated by the sound of Diana's soft breathing. Akko let it play out for a second more before she vigorously shook her head. That was enough doubt for the night. Time to move on.

"I mean, don't get me wrong, being me is still really awesome. It's… just not as awesome as you are. But just you wait. One day, I'll be as brilliant as you think I am. You'll see. I'll become so dazzling, you won't know what hit you when I sweep you off your feet. That's a promise.

"So until then, you mind waiting up? I know, I know, it's a lot to ask for when you're already leagues ahead of me, but I promise that I'll get there one day and you'll be super proud of me when I do. I promise. It'll be worth it in the end.  _I'll_  be worth it in the end. I p-prom-."

Her voice caught on the last syllable and she had to swallow thickly. Quietly, she raised the entwined lock to her lips, before letting it slowly unravel.

"I promise. One day, when I'm the shooting star you think I am… I'll tell you that I love you too."

* * *

When Akko woke the next morning, it was to an empty bed and the sound of magic being cast.

"Whu-whuh, whozzat?" She shot up, blinking the sleep away from her eyes and fumbling for her wand… wherever she tossed it last night. "Whoever you are, I sorta, kinda know magic!"

Her comparatively fumbling was put to an end when she heard someone clear their throat. Akko squinted, trying to see who it was in the pale morning light

"Diana?"

Akko saw the witch in question straighten up, fully dressed in the middle of the room, adjusting the ribbon on her uniform. "Good morning, Akko."

"Is it?" she grumbled, checking her clock and grimacing at what she saw. She didn't even get up this early on school days, let alone on weekends. Diana must've been some sort of super witch if she could even function this early. Internally, she debated whether Diana would be offended if she rolled over and caught another few minutes of sleep. Or hours. Or days. Or-

"GAHH DIANA!" And then the previous night's events rushed back to her and she yelped in surprise. "I mean, uh, g-good morning to you too! Sleep well?"

Diana dipped her head, seemingly unfazed by Akko's intense reaction. "Well enough, thank you. You?"

"Like a log. Sorta. Kinda." Akko nervously cleared her throat. Now that her memory was starting to reboot herself, she couldn't help but remember what happened last night. From the look of things though, the blonde witch seemed to feel the opposite. She was as composed as ever, hands behind her back.

"So...uh," Akko began. How to best approach the topic? Thankfully, Diana was the one to take the initiative.

"About last night," she cleared her throat, standing ram rod straight. "I must apologize for my unsightly display. My behavior was unacceptable and my conduct was even worse. That being said, I am eternally grateful for the consideration and patience you showed me." She bowed, so formally that Akko had half a mind to return it. "Despite my boorish behavior, I hope you can find it within yourself to look past it, for the sake of our friendship."

The blonde witch could've been a voice recording with how level her inflection was, which was disheartening, to say the very least. Yet, Akko managed to swallow her disappointment and reply back, "O-of course! You couldn't get me to stop being your friend even if you tried."

It was barely noticeable, but Akko saw Diana's shoulders relaxed just a fraction. A ghost of a smile flickered across her lips before disappearing just as quickly. "True," she said, turning around. "In that case, I'll leave you to your repose. I must check in on Hanna and Barbara and the rest."

"I-I'll come with!" Akko leaped out of bed, not willing to let her chance for a few more minutes with Diana slip away, before suddenly remembering she had left her regular clothes back in the suite. "Ah, crud. You wouldn't happen to have a spare uniform hanging around would you?"

In response, Diana simply waved her wand, muttering an incantation under her breath. Akko felt herself warm as her pajamas took on a bright glow, before morphing into an exact replica of her school uniform. Well, not quite exact; the skirt was a little long for Akko's taste, but she decided against saying anything to Diana's alteration. "Thanks. Wasn't looking forward to the entire dorm seeing me in my bunny pjs."

"Not a problem." Diana collapsed her wand, stowing it into her pocket and turned around. "Come find me when you wish to reverse the enchantment," she said as she made her way to the door.

Without thinking, Akko reached out to grab Diana's hand

And then promptly froze.

Diana turned around when she failed to hear Akko's accompanying footsteps. Her brows rose at Akko's outstretched hand. "Is there a problem?"

Other than that Akko had subconsciously reached out to hold Diana's hand? Not a damn thing. But Akko would rather drink a shremedy than admit out loud that she had grown accustomed to Diana asking for physical contact over the course of one night. Just one night!

"Uhh…" Akko's eyes darted, landing on the blonde witch's collar and she quickly pointed to it. "Your ribbon is...crooked?"

Complete lie, the thing was practically a straight point on Diana's collar. Diana, however, seemed to examine it more carefully. "Hmm, is it?" She readjusted it, giving it a small tug. "There. One of the drawbacks to dressing yourself with magic, I suppose. Now, let us be off."

"Right behind ya." When Diana's back was turned, Akko knuckled herself in the head. Act natural. Natural! Or as natural as she could before last night. Sure it was disappointing, a bit, but then again, there was nothing else Akko could really do right now. Still had some ways to grow before she could put Operation Sweep-Diana-Off-Her-Feet-With-How-Awesome-I-Am into motion.

"Akko?"

"Coming!"

The two witches made their way back to Diana's suite, Akko lagging a bit behind. Around them, most of the school was just beginning to wake up. A few students called out groggy greetings to the two of them, but for the most part, they were left alone as they walked. When they reached the door to the suite, however, Diana stopped suddenly, before turning back to Akko.

"It slipped my mind earlier," she said slowly, "but might I count on your discretion regarding the events of last night?"

Akko would've kept quiet even if Diana hadn't asked her. Call her selfish, but last night was something that was for Akko's memory alone. "Of course," she answered instantly. "You don't even have to ask. Besides, the last thing I want to give Sucy is more blackmail material." A sudden thought occurred to her. "Actually, are you sure you're feeling a hundred percent better? We never really did figure out if riding out the venom works or not."

At that, Diana winced and touched a finger to the side of her head. "I wouldn't say one hundred percent," she admitted quietly. "There are noticeable gaps in my memory. Most of what I recall of last night are my emotions. Certain events, however, are a blur." She frowned in concentration. "I do remember watching the film with you though. That was rather enjoyable."

"Ah, cool, cool," said Akko, trying her best to swallow her disappointment. Looks like last night was going to be exclusively for Akko's memory alone after all. "Well, don't worry about it. You were still as cool and slick as ever, Diana."

That got a small smile out of her. "Somehow, I doubt that was truly the case," she said, turning the knob and opening the door. "But I appreciate the senti-  _ **Good heavens!**_ "

Akko peered around Diana's shoulder and- holy crap.

The suite was shredded. It was as if Croix's magic missile had rerouted itself to detonate inside this room rather than a country away. There was food everywhere, on the floor, on the ceiling. Somebody's sheets had been thrown over the light fixture, feathers from ripped pillows dashed the walls and there was a large hole in the glass window where the two had sat just a few hours before.

"Heyyyy, you guys came back!" a voice called from behind the upturned sofa and Akko and Diana cautiously made their way over to it.

From her upside down position from where she laid, Amanda's grin looked more than a little shellshocked, but she somehow managed to give them a cheery wave. Nestled in the other corner of the couch and curled up in a ball was Lotte, still sleeping. Constanze sat a length away, sleeping soundly as her head lolled against her chest. And somewhere in the room, Akko could hear the tell tale sounds of Jasminka's snoring. Sucy was nowhere to be found.

The only other people awake asides from Amanda were Hanna and Barabara, who were sitting on the floor away from the rest, near the dining table, a shared blanket draped over their shoulders. They were whispering and giggling furtively to each other, as though sharing a secret privy to only themselves.

Akko could only gape dumbly. Diana, however, had no such qualms.

" _O'Neill._ " Her voice could freeze magma. " _What. Happened_."

Amanda nodded reasonably, as if asked what she thought of the weather. "That's a good question," she said, just as reasonable. "But lemme get back to you on that in a couple of hours. I'm knackered." And with that, she let her head fall back against the floor with a meaty thud.

"Don't you dare-!" But Amanda was already snoring loudly, dead to the world. Diana pinched the bridge of her nose. "Unbelievable. Akko, I'm sorry, but would you mind waking the rest? I must talk to Hanna and Barbara about the sorry state of the suite, seeing as how they are the only ones currently conscious."

Like Akko was going to say no to livid Diana. "Go for it. I'll handle things here." Diana gave her a small, grateful smile before getting up and heading to the two. Once she was out of earshot, Akko gently tapped Lotte. The mousy girl blinked awake after a few light taps.

"Oh, A-Akko," she yawned, slowly sitting up and rubbing her eyes. "Goooood mooooorning… Wait. Oh Akko!" Lotte jolted awake. "You're back! Are you alright? Sucy said you got a stomachache from eating too much and Diana had to take you to the nurse's office afterward."

Well, that was downright considerate of Sucy to cover for her like that. Though knowing her, she'd probably use it as some sort of leverage down the line. Akko coughed. "Yeah, something like that. But Lotte, what happened here? It looks like a bomb went off!"

Lotte's expression turned chagrined. "Oh, Akko, I'm so sorry! I know you asked me to keep an eye on her but Sucy managed to sneak past me somehow. She spiked the tea with LoveLove venom!"

Akko's stomach turned to ice. "Oh crap." Everyone knew.  _They all knew that Diana drank the spiked tea!_  Maybe she'd been giving Sucy to much credit. Crap, crud,cripes.

"N-now hang on," Akko began, scrambling for an excuse, any excuse to justify herself. But Lotte simply continued talking, too distressed to listen.

"It was awful! When Sucy told everyone what she did, Amanda panicked and threw the tea tray out the window and I think that upset Jasminka because next thing you know, food is flying everywhere! Everywhere! And then Constanze's robot went into emergency protocol and things just went downhill from there." Lotte shook her head and rubbed wearily at her eyes. "Funnily enough, the only ones who escaped relatively unscathed were Hanna and Barbara. And they were the ones who drank the spiked cup!"

Akko froze. "Wait,  _what_."

Lotte nodded, mistaking Akko's reaction for indignant disbelief. "That's right. They shared a cup so I think the effects may have been diluted because they didn't start kissing until the middle of the food fight. And they got to miss most of the excitement by making out underneath the dining table, lucky them."

"Wait, no- stop," Akko grabbed Lotte by the shoulders. "You said- you said, Hanna and Barbara?"

Lotte nodded, a little warily at the wide-eyed look in her friend's eyes. "Right. They've been inseparable since. Actually, it's been a while now. How long does it usually last?"

Akko let go of her friend, reeling mentally. "B-but that doesn't make any sense!" Had the room always been spinning before? And had it always been so  _bright_? "Diana was the one-!"

And then she stopped.

_You'd think you'd develop a tolerance to it by now."_

_P-perhaps I am. I feel...somewhat more composed than the previous time_

Is what Diana said… But now that Akko thought about it more, there was a pretty noticeable difference from the way she acted before when she was stung. At the ball, Diana had acted more coyly skittish, kind of like those fainting damsels inside those old stuffy romance novels written ages ago. But this time, Diana had acted remarkably similar to her usual self. Still embarrassed, sure, but there was something uniquely Diana in the bashful way she acted. Akko hadn't really given it a second thought, what with more pressing matters at hand. But...

_So wait_ , Akko thought,  _if Hanna and Barbara were the ones who drank the spiked tea last night. Then… Diana..._

_I find you utterly bewitching, after all_

_It's just one brilliant part of why I love you so_

_That does not make my feelings any less real, does it not?_

Oh.

_Bang!_

The two jumped as the door slammed behind them. Akko whipped around just in time to see a flash of golden hair and a cheek that was furiously red disappear around the corner.

"Huh. Diana seemed to be in an awful hurry." Lotte worried her lip nervously. "I hope she's not too angry with how the room is. Akko, do you think you could explain to- Ohmigosh, Akko, are you alright?!"

Akko's knees had turned to jelly, collapsing like a house of cards beneath her. All she could do was stare wide-eyed at the door.

"Akko? Akko, can you hear me? Your face is really, really red! Are you okay? Do you need to see the nurse again? Akko!"

She couldn't answer. How could she? Her face was on fire. Her whole body was on fire, like a meteor blazing in the night sky.

_Maybe I'm closer to becoming a shooting star than I thought_ , she thought, as the world around her shined bright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: "Dianakko week, huh? Sounds cool, I should write something fun and short."
> 
> Me, but 10,000 words later: "I've made some poor decisions in my life."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Diana fakes an Illness. It goes as well as you'd expect.

Surprisingly, out of all of Akko's friends, it was Manbavaran who approached Diana first, just a week before the sleepover social thrown by Hanna and Barbara.

Diana herself had been studying quietly at a table in the library, in a secluded corner far from the madding crowd. It was a quiet Monday evening, and she was taking notes from a particularly dull tome (" _Dichotomies of Meteorite and Comet Dust Usage from the Early Dark Ages_ " riveting stuff that) for Professor Finnelan's test and debating whether a few more pages was worth the inevitable eye strain when something heavy dropped onto the table with a jarring  _thump!_

Glancing up, Diana saw Manbavaran smile cheerfully back at her, which immediately raised Diana's brows. As far as Diana could recall, the mushroom mistress had two smiles, one that was small but genuine, reserved exclusively for her friends and another smile that was akin to a shark scenting blood in the water. Strangely enough, that smile was also solely reserved for her friends. Whatever the case, the sight of so many canines aimed in her direction immediately put Diana on the alert though she was careful to make no outward show of her suspicion.

"Good evening, Ms. Manbavaran," she said evenly, resuming her previous place in the notes. Whatever had the mad witch so self-satisfied would reveal itself sooner or later. Best to proceed casually in the meantime. "I trust the night has found you well?"

No answer. Diana glanced back up. Manbavaran still had that sinister smile plastered on her countenance, and Diana doubted it had to do with the book she had set down ( _Fantastic Fungi and Where to Find Them_ ) She cleared her throat. "Was there something you wanted of me?"

At that, Manbavaran's smile turned into the shark-toothed one. Before Diana could voice anything else, however, she finally spoke, aiming straight for the jugular.

"You're in love with Akko, aren't you?"

Diana's eyes widened, but otherwise, she made no other visible reaction. Ah. Well, that certainly wasn't what Diana had been expecting. It explained Manbavaran's smug behavior, though, judging by the barely restrained glee in which Manbavaran had voiced it, the mushroom mistress had only recently come to that conclusion. Perhaps she was hoping to catch Diana flat-footed with an abrupt confrontation.

Well, that wouldn't do at all.

Diana closed her tome before facing to regard the mad witch with her undivided attention, "You are correct," she said, tone still even. She folded her hands together. "What of it?"

A beat of silence. Diana noted, with some small satisfaction, the other witch's grin slowly withered away in the quiet until her expression was somewhat disgruntled.

"That's it?"

The urge to laugh at the disappointment in Manbavaran's tone was powerful, but Diana managed to quash it. "I'm afraid I don't quite understand," she said slowly as if instructing a child stuck on a particularly difficult problem. "You posed to me a query, and I answered it to the best of my ability."

"Best of my ability, my left foot," Sucy grumbled, pulling the chair out and sagging in it like a spent balloon with all the mischievous air leaked out. She fixed Diana with a frustrated glare. "Aren't you supposed to... overreact and deny it and maybe break a window or two?"

"You mean, like how Akko would overreact if she were confronted abruptly in such a manner?" countered Diana.

"Well, yeah, essentially. Is that too much to ask for?"

At the very least, Manbavaran was forthright with her intentions. "It may come as a surprise to you, but I came to terms with my feelings months ago," Diana said dryly. "Once I understood them, I simply made my peace and moved on."

Manbavaran scowled back at her. "Well, maybe I'll tell Akko what you said and get the overreaction I was hoping for."

"You're certainly welcome to try," Diana countered smoothly, looking away to clean up her things. The conversation had run its course if Manbavaran had to resort to threats and particularly weak ones at that. "I believe she would be hard-pressed to take your word for the truth."

"Are you calling me a liar?"

"Not quite. Just a schemer with a penchant for crying wolf."

Manbavaran opened her mouth to rejoinder, paused, and the clamped it shut. "Can't even argue that," she muttered, soundly defeated and begrudgingly amazed. "Have you thought of everything?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Diana scoffed, neatly tidying up her notes. "I am simply a Cavendish." She picked up her bag, preparing to head back to the suite, quite pleased with herself for avoiding the mad witch's trap. Perhaps this would teach a lesson in humility to the consummate trickster. "If that is all, then I bid you a good night."

With that, Diana rose from her seat, prepared to put the conversation behind her, sure that she had shown Manbavaran her just desserts. Oh, speaking of desserts, a cherry tart sounded lovely right about now. A reward for her studying and for outsmarting Manbavaran. Yes, as soon as she got back to the suite she would whip up a batch and then-

"If you've thought of everything," Manbavaran's quiet voice cut clear through her thoughts, "then how come you haven't told her yet?"

Diana to stopped dead in her tracks, her former good cheer vaporizing in an instant. Perhaps she had given herself too much credit and too little credit to Manbavaran. She'd been hoping that the mad witch would avoid asking that specific question, out of all them, but it appeared that Manbavaran was more adept than she let on.

"I see no need to," she turned back to the mad witch, hoping that her tone sounded confident enough that she would consider the matter settled. "The relationship we have now is perfectly functional and perfectly acceptable."

Wrong answer. Like a shark smelling blood, Manbavaran's sharp smile reappeared, quick as a flash "Mhmm, is that so," she drew out the word, wholly unconvinced. "Well, if that's what you think. But… if you ask me, it sounds to me like you're maybe, just maybe- oh, but that can't be right." She raised a hand to her mouth, the very picture of exaggerated disbelief. "There's no way you of all people..."

The urge for Diana to roll her eyes was very tempting at the moment. Very. "Out with it," she bit out more curtly than she intended, "I haven't got all day."

Manbavaran chuckled delightedly in response. "Why, if I didn't know you better, Diana," she clapped her hands delightedly, "I'd say it sounds like you're  _scared_."

"Don't be ridiculous," she countered quickly, far too quickly to seem honest. Blast. "What could I possibly be afraid of?"

"Oh, but lots, lots. Let's see." Manbavaran's held out her hand, ticking off the reasons. "You're scared of your feelings because you've never felt this way before about anyone, let alone, Akko of all people" She ploughed on before Diana could get a rebuttal in edgewise. "Or maybe, you're scared of what Akko would say to your feelings, but hmm… there must be something else. Something more that would hold you back." She snapped her fingers. "Oh, but of course!"

Manbavaran pointed a finger directly at Diana's heart. "What scares you the most is that Akko may never, ever,  _ever_ , feel the same way that you do for her."

Diana didn't wince, but she came close to, with each barb nailing further into her heart. Because when it boiled down to the bare essentials, the mad witch was right. As much as Diana tried to convince herself otherwise, the feelings of friendship and affection she had nursed for so long regarding Akko had slowly bloomed into something more, right beneath her nose. It had taken Diana entirely unawares, this sudden love and it left her unsure and uncertain of where she stood in Akko's heart. Akko didn't know herself, but the heir to the Shiny Rod held Diana's heart in the very palm of her hands.

And that frightened her more than anything else in the world.

"You are free to believe what you like." A lesser person might have cowered in fear at the ice in Diana's voice. Manbavaran simply grinned wider. She closed her notebook with a sharp snap. "If that is all, I again, bid you goodnight."

She hoped that would be the end of that, but Manbavaran had other plans apparently. "Hold up, don't get your pretty little head in a fritz," the mad witch drawled, unfazed by the glacial glare aimed her way. "As entertaining as it was, I didn't come here just to tease you, though that was a nice bonus." She leaned forward in her seat, lacing her fingers underneath her chin, an eager gleam in her eyes. "I came to make you an offer as well."

Diana paused, narrowing her eyes in response. An offer? Surely, it was another trick to lower her guard further. "What do you mean, offer?"

The gleam in Manbavaran's eyes grew. "What if I said, I know a way for you to overcome your fear?"

That'd be the day when Professor Ursula returned to the public spotlight as Shiny Chariot. Diana scoffed. "I believe any potion or substance you would offer me would be highly illicit."

"Ah but see, that's the beauty of it," the mad witch crowed in her raspy monotone. "I won't even have to use my potions. I just have to tell Akko a lie. One teeny-tiny little white lie and poof!" She made a popping noise with her lips. "And away goes your fear. How does that sound?"

It sounded preposterous. Not to mention that any offer by the mad witch was sure to be accompanied by some hidden clause that would require Diana's immortal soul in exchange or something just as ridiculous. Preposterous. And yet…Diana had to admit grudgingly, she was intrigued. A way to overcome her fear and without a potion or magic? A deal too good to be true.

As if sensing her guarded interest, Manbavaran continued. "How about this; I'll even throw in an entire evening alone with Akko as well." Diana's head jerked involuntarily. "Think about it, one entire evening alone, uninterrupted, just the two of you and whatever may happen. One entire evening." She gave her what Diana could only assume was her version of a benign smile as she splayed her hand invitingly across the table.

"So… do we have a deal?"

"You have yet to tell me what you stand to gain from this deal," Diana said, stalling, as her mind tried to piece together Manbavaran's ulterior motive (because there had to be one, had to be)

The mad witch retracted her hand, looking surprised, then thoughtful. "Oh, you're right. Give and take." She rubbed her chin. "I am running low on cockatrice feathers," she remarked, almost as an afterthought. "Let me into Arcturus forest again?"

"Absolutely not."

"Drat," said Manbavaran with a well-what-can-you-do sort of shrug, not sounding at all disappointed. "Well, I guess I'll just have to live off of the satisfaction of bringing my two friends closer together." She sighed, ever the martyr. "Oh, the things I do for my friends."

More like the satisfaction of watching Akko tear her hair out in frustration. That was the only way a scheme devised by the mad witch could ever end. "I haven't agreed to anything," Diana protested and then mentally smacked herself. Hardly an outright refusal that. Well done.

That was enough for the mad witch, who merely smiled knowingly. "So you say, but we still have time. Tell you what, you have until the day of Hanna and Barbara's sleepover to make your decision. After that… well, who knows when you'll get another chance." She stood up, making her way to the exit with her tome, giving Diana a cheery wave. "Think about it!" she called back, leaving Diana alone to stew on her thoughts.

The urge to blast something with her magic was worryingly intense at the moment, and Diana had to force herself to close her eyes and count to five. Once that was done, she sat back down and re-opened her notes, intent to burn off the remainder of her ire in dry explanations and convoluted star diagrams. It was unlikely she'd be able to fall asleep after that  _scintillating_  conversation.

"There is nothing to think about," Diana muttered viciously, more for her own benefit as she pressed her quill a tad harder than necessary into the page. "Nothing at all."

* * *

 

One week later and Diana had done nothing but the exact opposite.

"Nothing at all!"

Poor Hanna flinched, looking warily back at the tea tray in her hand. "U-uh, are you, like, sure?" she asked carefully. "Because the way you said it sounds like something is wrong with the blend."

And now she was talking (yelling) to herself. Wonderful. Diana schooled her features to relax. "My apologies, I was thinking of something else," she put the cup she had sampled back onto the tray, fixing Hanna with a reassuring smile. Her teammate returned it with an unsure lilt of her head "The alraune leaf blend is excellent. A fine choice."

Hanna, bless her heart, quickly forgot about the odd reaction, preening instead at the compliment. "Oh, you think? I wasn't sure earlier but if you say so."

"Positive." Only when Hanna went off to put the tray on the dining table did Diana let her smile slip back into a scowl. With a frustrated sigh, she turned back to look out the suite's window, surveying the Luna Nova grounds. The entire week, the mad witch's offer had plagued Diana's every waking thought, leaving most of her nerves frayed and restless. There was absolutely no way the mad witch would keep her word and even if she did, she would undoubtedly find some way to twist it as was her customary manner.

...

But on the off chance that she did keep her word...

Diana groaned as her thoughts once again made a circuit. "Devil take me," she cursed under her breath, just as the door to the suite burst open with a  _bang!_

"All right, let's get this party started!"

_Speak of the devil, and she shall appear, with temptation in tow._

In the reflection of the window, Diana watched as Hanna berated Akko for the door, and her lips involuntarily raised in a small smile as Akko stuck her tongue back before heading straight for the dining table. Trust the excitable witch to think with her stomach first.

That smile quickly evaporated when Manbavaran suddenly appeared in her field of vision. The mad witch caught her eye and raised her eyebrow, as if to ask,  _well?_

Diana's eyes narrowed in return, prepared to give Manbavaran a piece of her mind, the staunch refusal already on her lips. Failing an entire semester's worth of classes would be more desirable than becoming a victim of Manbavaran's scheme. Diana opened her mouth, intent on putting an end to the farce, once and for all, with a firm and resounding-

_Yes._

It took a second, one entire, idiotic second for her mind to catch up to what she had done. And when it did-  _Bollocks_.

Unfortunately, it was too late to change her heart. The mad witch's answering grin and soft cackling were enough to make Diana's own heart sink. With nary a glance back, she went to the dining table, no doubt to set her diabolical plan in motion.

A Cavendish never panicked. Never. It simply wasn't in the Cavendish genes. They could, however, come very, very close. As Diana watched with a sinking heart, she realized that maybe she should've agreed to let Manbavaran into Arcturus Forest after all, if only for a chance at leniency at whatever the mad witch had planned. What was a cockatrice or two compared to dealing with the devil?

A sudden movement in the reflection of the window suddenly broke Diana's thoughts that were-absolutely-not-on-the-verge-of-panic, thank you very much. As Diana peered closer, her frustration gave way to a reluctant amusement as she observed Akko, with a mischievous grin on her countenance, attempt to sneak up on her with all the subtlety of a bull in a china shop, tip-toeing on her feet like some vaudeville villain.

"Boo!"

Good grief, this girl. "Good evening to you as well, Akko," said Diana, turning around to face her with the small smile still in place.

"Awww," Akko's mischievous grin turned into a pout and she placed her hands on her hips in a rather put-out manner. "How did you know?"

"Forgive my forwardness, but you aren't exactly the most subtle of people, Akko," she said, then gestured to the window. "That and I could see your reflection sneaking up on me."

Akko's pout deepened. "Yeah well, maybe if the window wasn't so freakishly sparkly," she began and then stopped, as her frustration suddenly morphed into childish amazement. "Holy Shiny Rod, your windows are super clean! You can see all the way back into the living room! Bet you could drink one of Sucy's shremedies off of it no problem."

How they had gone from simple greetings to imbibing foreign substances off of absurdly clean windows was beyond Diana's comprehension. "I'm afraid I can't speak from personal experience." Akko opened her mouth, and she added with a smirk, "And before you ask, please do not attempt to make it into a personal experience."

In response, Akko stuck out her tongue. "Haha, funny- don't laugh!" she huffed. "I would never do something as crazy as drinking one of Sucy's shremedies!"

"Oh?" Diana put a hand to her chin, pretending to think. "I seem to recall an incident last spring involving Ms. Manbavaran and a room exploding with mushrooms?" She remembered the incident very well; she'd been in charge of evacuating the entire floor and cleanup efforts afterward.

Akko gaped indignantly. "Willingly!" she quickly amended. "I would never WILLINGLY drink one of her shremedies! Huuuuuge difference!"

And just like that, Diana found herself laughing when just mere minutes ago, she thought her mood was unsalvageable. It was frightening how quickly Akko could make her forget her worries with just a ridiculous idea and infectious smile.

After a second, Akko's pout morphed into giggles as well, and the two shared a laugh, alone in their little corner of the room. "Man, it feels like forever since I heard you laugh like that!" she declared once the mirth had subsided. She sat down next to Diana on the perch, carefully placing the plate and teacup down between them. Diana noted with some small satisfaction that the plate was loaded with the pastries she had baked the night before. The excitable witch popped one in her mouth and swallowed before asking, "So, how are you holding up? School running you ragged yet?"

If school was the only problem, if only. Diana shook her head, willing herself to put her best face forward, or as best as she could attempt. The sleepless nights had taken their toll after all. "Not school, no. Though I do admit, I have been having trouble falling asleep as of late."

In an instant, Akko's cheer was replaced with honest concern. "What's up?" she asked, putting down the pastry. The look in her eyes was entirely too eager to assist in any way. "Maybe I can help. Just say the word!"

As touched as she was by Akko's immediate concern for her well-being, involving the excitable witch into her own problems was the last thing Diana wanted, what with whatever Manbavaran had planned. "I appreciate the offer," she said with what she hoped was a reassuring smile, "but it's nothing you need concern yourself over. I have the situation under control."

Judging by the dubious look on Akko's face, it most likely could use some work. "But-!"

"I'm fine, Akko," she cut her off. "Really."

Akko deflated, and Diana tried not to wince at the hurt expression on Akko's face. It felt like she had accidentally kicked a small woodland creature and lord if that mental image didn't make Diana feel even worse.

_Perhaps that was a tad curt. I should apologize, say something to-_

"I don't believe you."

Diana blinked, thrown off her mental stride. Akko scowled back at her, arms crossed. "Er…" she began, but before she could say anything else, Akko held up her hand.

"I don't believe you, but I'm not gonna force you into telling me. Instead," here the excitable witch took her own plate of food and placed it on Diana's lap, "I'm going to make you eat this entire plate."

Retribution by excessive pastries, what a novel way to go. "Thank… you?" she said hesitantly picking one up.

Akko nodded briskly. "You're welcome. And you're gonna drink this tea too," she handed the cup to Diana, who took it, too bemused to refuse otherwise. "And then I'm going to get another plate, fill this one with desserts and then we're gonna stuff our pie holes until you feel better." Akko's voice had steadily gained in fervor, and Diana felt compelled to lean a bit back. "Because this is a sleepover! And that's what friends do at sleepovers!"

Diana blinked again. "Gorge ourselves to the point of distension?"

"Eat tons of junk food and cheer each other up, duh." Akko rolled her eyes as if it were obvious. She got up from the seat. "Cherry tarts are your favorite, right?"

Flattered as she was that Akko remembered what her favorite dessert was, Diana still felt that she needed to get in a word edgewise. "Yes. But Akko-!"

"Nuh uh, nope, not another word," the excitable witch plugged her fingers into her ears. "I wanna see that plate sparkling like your window when I get back! Chop, chop, get to it!" With that, she dashed to the dining table, leaving only Diana to blink dumbfounded at the after image.

Well… that could have been handled better in so many ways. Diana sighed and wearily rubbed her face. By the Nine was this difficult. Lying had never been her strong suit and hiding the truth by omission was hardly any better. At the rate tonight was going, she'd be better off exposing her silly crush to the entire Luna Nova Academy. Akko seemed oblivious enough, though Diana wasn't sure how much longer it would last. The excitable witch cared too much for her friends not to notice something amiss, a trait that Diana found both exasperating and endearing.

With another sigh, she lifted the teacup to her lips and took a sip. A sudden thought crossed her mind, and she lowered it with a frown. Had Akko mentioned drinking from the cup? She hadn't, as far as Diana could recall.

But if she had… then… wouldn't this be considered an indirect kis-

Diana groaned and put her face in her hand. What was she thinking? Acting like- like some besotted damsel? Unbelievable.

Before she could mourn the loss of her dignity, however, there was a loud exclamation from somewhere in the room. Curious, Diana raised her head, just in time to see Akko not entirely running in her direction, the earlier frustrated expression replaced with something closer to bare-faced terror.

"Hey, Diana, so we maaaaaaay have a crisis on our hand," the excitable witch said when she neared. "A-teeny-tiny-itty-bitty-bit-of-a crisis."

Crises, by definition, were anything but small, but Diana managed to refrain from making that remark, instead opting to stare back incredulously at Akko. "You were gone for at most five minutes.  _Five minutes_." Honestly, she was more amazed than actually upset. "How on earth did you manage to find a crisis on your way to the dessert bar?"

Despite the situation, Akko paused, taking time to huff indignantly, panic temporarily forgotten. "Wow, okay, first off, only  _slightly_  rude and only  _slightly_  true. And second, I didn't find the crisis, it found me!" she exclaimed, then amended, "or more like, Sucy found it for me. Like, exclusively for me." Akko's brows furrowed as something occurred to her. "Now that I think about it, Sucy is really good at that."

At the mention of the mad witch, the remainder of Diana's good mood vanished in a puff of smoke. So now the devil decided to show her horns. Grimly, she set her teacup down and gave Akko her full attention. "Akko, focus, please."

At the firm tone of her voice, Akko instantly snapped to attention. "Right. So. Um…" she took a breath to fortify herself. "Okay, before you get mad, this was all Sucy's fault, just so you know, so I don't deserve detention but Sucy does because she managed to spike one of the teacups with LoveLove venom but she lost track of which one and I need your help into making an anti-venom because you're the only one who knows this kinda stuff and we need to do this like, super sneakily so no one panics and I really, really, really need your help."

Akko paused, took another deep breath. "Pretty please?"

There was a brief pause in Diana's mind. The barest hint of a break as she took the words, parsed their meanings and reassembled them to fully understand what Akko had uttered. The briefest of pauses.

Oh. LoveLove venom in the tea was it? So that was Manbavaran had meant when all she had to do was tell Akko a little white lie. Obvious, really. A simple plan, in retrospect. Diana didn't know why she hadn't thought of it firs-  _ **that was her plan?!**_

The beginning of what sounded suspiciously like muffled screaming began ringing through her head.  _This is Manbavaran's genius plan?! Fake the symptoms of a LoveLove sting and hope for the bloody best?!_  Not like the first and second times had been humiliating enough. Dimly, she was aware of Akko grabbing her by the hand and leading her out of the room.  _Overcoming fear my left foot. I do hope Manbavaran enjoys latrine duty for the rest of her_ _ **life.**_

Akko was talking again, and Diana forced herself to listen. "...can get us in, no problem, but I'm not sure how we're going to get a cauldron in without making a whole lotta noise." Akko walked a step forward, back to Diana, feet tapping nervously as she tried to plan something out. "Oh, but if a professor does catch us, you can just tell them that you caught me making a late night potluck with stuff I stole from the kitchen. I know what I said earlier, but one more detention..."

As Akko continued to ramble, Diana found herself at a crossroads. A better witch at that moment would've put a stop to all the nonsense. A better witch would've come forth with the truth and put the entire thing to rest, without any more fanfare or upsets. It was the right thing, the correct thing to do. Herself resolved, Diana stepped forward and cleared her throat, intent on being the better witch...

And instead, promptly placed her cheek on the back of Akko's neck.

 _aaaaa_ _ **AAAHHHHHHHH**_ , went the muffled screaming in her head.

Apparently, the better witch within her had decided to take an early leave, along with her friend, common sense.  _Wonderful, well played and wildly inappropriate._

Pure and utter mortification seeped into Diana's skin, and she could physically feel the flush creeping up her neck and coloring her face. Perhaps it would be better now to pray for a quick and painless death, as opposed to dying by pure mortification.

Akko's reaction was much more delayed but much more apparent. Diana could physically feel the moment Akko went from confusion to realization to- " _Bwah?!_ "

"U-uhh, D-Diana," she stuttered. It was novel, hearing the normally brash witch at a complete loss for words. "I, uh-umm…"

Involuntarily, Diana let out an embarrassed whimper that made Akko flinch. "H-how does the expression go?" she mumbled, burying her flaming face further into Akko's back. "T-third time's the charm?"

Akko paused briefly before muttering "Oh, crud," and stepped away from Diana's space. The excitable witch turned around to face her, an expression of worry mixed with a hint of red on her face. "Are you…?" she began before stopping, nervously running a hand through her hair. She let out a breathy laugh. "O-oh man, I don't know if you're like, super lucky or super unlucky."

The next words were out of Diana's mouth before she could even properly form them in her mind.

"If it's you, I would count it as a blessing from the stars," Diana said before she realized what she had said and  _wonderful, well played,_ _ **wildly inappropriate**_ _._

Akko's countenance, which had already been flushed, turned a bright cherry red. Her mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out, a sentiment that Diana was sharing. "M-my apologies," she muttered, turning away, mentally smacking herself in the head. "That was untoward of me."

Akko opened and closed her mouth a few more times. "I-it's okay, it's- whatever." She let out another nervous laugh. "You think you'd develop a tolerance to it by now, huh?"

A more perfect excuse couldn't have fallen from the heavens at that moment, and Diana instantly latched onto it. "P-perhaps I am." She forced out a chuckle. "I-I do feel somewhat more composed than the previous times. Though that isn't saying much."

In response, Akko shrugged a little helplessly as if to say  _what can you do_? She glanced back at the door where the sounds of the party could be heard and winced. "I guess you don't want to go back in there?" she asked, no doubt longing to go back to the party herself.

Diana grimaced. She'd rather forfeit all her holdings on the Cavendish estate to Aunt Daryl then going back in there in her current state. "To quote a wise mage, 'I would prefer not to.'"

At that, the two witches descended into an awkward silence, a first for them. As long as Diana had known her, Akko was never one for silences, always finding some novel way to make as much excitement as possible. Yet the current situation had caught them both off guard. It was uncomfortable, to say the least. Finally, when it became too much to bear, Diana opened her mouth to speak, at the same time Akko did.

"You can return to the party, if you wish."

"Okay, so I was thinking we skip the party and-"

The two stopped. Akko was the first to react, doing a humorous double take as she realized what Diana had said. "Wait, what are you talking about? There's no way I'm leaving you by yourself to go party!" she said, looking outrageously scandalized by the suggestion. "I'd be a terrible friend."

"I a-assure you that wouldn't be the case," muttered Diana, "I will simply take a repose in the nurse's office and-"

"And nothing!" Akko cut in. She planted herself squarely in front of Diana, stubbornly placing her fists on her hips. "Out of all the things we're going to do, we are not, I repeat, we are  _not_ going to let you go to the nurse's office just so you can wallow all by your lonesome," she affirmed, grabbing Diana's shoulders and turning her around. "What we are going to do is go back to my room, watch bad rom-coms on Witchflix, and ride out the LoveLove venom in the comfort and security of friends. Or well, friend," she corrected. "The rest of them probably don't need to know what's going on."

"Most definitely not," Diana immediately agreed. The last thing she wanted to see was Hanna and Barbara finding out and losing their heads. As much as she loved her teammates and confidants, if the Hanbridge's ball was any indication, Diana would be lucky if they only reacted with mild hysteria.

Akko smirked triumphantly, "See? And last I checked, the school nurse ain't nobody's friend. Which sounds mean," she admitted, grin morphing into a small grimace, "but I swear on the Shiny Rod that last time I got a checkup from her, she took one of my livers without telling me! I mean, she put it back after we were done, but still!"

It was somewhat difficult to choose whether to laugh or sigh exasperatedly at Akko's attempt at being facetious. What was truly horrifying was how well it was working. "You only have one liver, Akko," Diana said, biting the inside of her cheek.

"And that's the one she took! I can even show the scar if you don't believe me!" The excitable witch lifted her ponytail and pointed to the back of her neck. A scar that looked to be the remnant of a flying broom accident and decidedly not a surgical scar flashed back at Diana. "See that?"

 _Do not smile, do NOT smile. You smile, you forfeit._  Forfeit what, Diana wasn't exactly sure. It wasn't her dignity seeing as how there was little left of it. "I'm more impressed as to how the school nurse managed to remove your liver from what appears to be the back of your neck."

"I know, right? Witchcraft, lemme tell ya!"

A giggle, unbidden, escaped from her mouth and blast, there went her so-called restraint. "Oh good lord- fine!" Diana threw her arms up, "we will do as you suggested," she relented, watching with exasperated amusement as Akko let out a triumphant whoop and fist pumped. "We will go back to your room and ride out the venom in the safety and comfort of friend, singular."

"Don't forget 'and watch bad rom-coms!' It's like, a friend sleepover rite of passage."

"How could I forget?" Diana remarked before giving into the smile threatening to take over her face. Akko brought out the absolute worst in her. "After you."

She expected Akko to grin widely in response and taking off running down the hallway. Instead, the excitable witch sidled up next to her. "Nearly forgot to do one more thing," Akko said and there was an odd note of forced normalcy in her tone. Before Diana could question it, however, Akko looped her arm around hers and gently slid her hand right into Diana's open palm.

The blush on Diana's cheek, which had all but faded from existence, flared back with a vengeance. "I-I… er- I…" was all she could get out.

Akko cleared her throat loudly. Once. Twice. "Y-you know, ride out the venom and all that?" she explained to the wall, pointedly keeping her gaze away from Diana. "And uh, would totally suck if you l-like ran into a w-wall or something because of the dark."

It was utterly adorable how seriously Akko was taking the LoveLove sting despite it being completely fabricated. She could feel the calluses in Akko's hand, the little nicks and scars that were part of the excitable witch's training. It was rough but pleasantly warm, not unlike the excitable witch herself.

"B-but of course," Diana found herself agreeing, just a trace of a stutter in her voice. "T-that would truly be a tragedy."

There was a brief pause and then Akko let out an explosive sigh that puffed her hair up. "I don't wanna make you feel uncomfortable or anything," she mumbled, seemingly doing away with the nonchalant facade, "so just...let me know the instant you wanna let go, all right?"

"That would be never," Diana remarked, realizing too late that her filter between brain and mouth was woefully missing _. I said that out loud didn't I, oh lord, I said that_ _ **out loud**_ _._

The edge of Akko's cheek swiftly turned red, followed by, "O-oh, uh, s-same, I guess!" The excitable witch cleared her throat and tugged at her collar. "Uh, wow, did you know your hand is really soft? I mean…!" Akko's eyes widened as Diana felt her own face mirror her expression. Apparently, Diana wasn't the only one without a filter tonight. "I-I mean, i-i-it's soft as in, you know...soft!"

As far as Akko's explanations went, that was both completely understandable and utterly unfathomable. Akko cleared her throat again. "A-anyway, l-let's go. Those bad rom-coms aren't going to watch themselves!" she declared, setting off in the opposite direction of where she actually lived.

"Er...wrong way, Akko."

"Just let me have this, Diana."

* * *

 

Apart from an unfortunate encounter with a minotaur janitor on the third floor (Diana made a mental note to avoid all minotaur janitors named Herbie for the rest of the school year) the two witches managed to make their way back to Akko's dorm in peace, more or less.

"Here we go!" with a flourish, Akko unlocked the door and gestured grandly. "Welcome to Chateau de Akko-Lotte-and-Sucy. Pull up a seat and make yourself at home!"

A quick cursory glance around the room had Diana tempted to ask just where she could find said seat. To be fair, Akko's dorm wasn't the messiest dorm she had inspected in her time as a Luna Nova prefect, the honor belonging to Albrectsberger because of the underground workshop she had added. But it certainly came close.

Akko seemed to come to the same conclusion because she let out a rather awkward laugh. "Ahaha, right, uhh, hang on," before rushing over to her bed and kicking everything under her desk. Hardly the most efficient way of tidying up but Diana wasn't going to argue. "Sorry about the mess," she mumbled, shoving what looked like a pair of jeans under her bed. "It's usually not this bad. I mean, it can get pretty bad, but not by much more."

"That's…good to hear?" responded Diana as she lowered herself gingerly onto Akko's bed. As she sat down, her fingers brushed against something smooth underneath the pillow.  _Hm? What's this?_  Curious, she reached underneath the cover and pulled out a thin, rectangular object and flipped it over and- ah, of course.

She noted with some pleasant surprise that Shiny Chariot's brilliant countenance seemed as bright as ever, beaming from within the card frame. A fond smile materialized on Diana's lips as she turned the card around to inspect it, letting a rare feeling of nostalgia wash over her. It was akin to being reunited with an old friend. Though what that friend was doing hiding in the folds of Akko's covers was a mystery.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Akko," Diana turned around, holding the card outstretched in her hand as a teasing note entered her voice, "but as far as I recall, the tooth fairy accepts payment only in molars as opposed to collector items."

Akko, who had been in the middle of balancing a stack of textbooks and notebooks in one hand, and navigating her orb's menu with her other hand, paused and looked up. "What are you-  _oh crap_!" The books went tumbling to the floor with a crash though the orb managed to stay on with a weak, flickering light. "I-I mean- Oh, uh, hahaha is that where it went?" she laughed nervously before knuckling the side of her head. "I've been looking for that darn thing forever, silly me! Ahahaha…"

After a few more awkward seconds of forced laughter, Akko dropped the facade with a suffering groan. "Wait no, that sounded really bad, like I don't take care of your stuff. But it's still in great shape I swear!" she rushed to reassure her, grabbing it out of Diana's hand and pointing to the front. "See? I put a sturdiness charm on it and then I had Lotte add onto it in case I screwed up, so it's still in mint condition!"

Actually, putting any sort of magic charm on the card would effectively ruin the resale value in the collector world, but that was beside the point. Akko could have accidentally folded it in half so long as Diana knew that the Shiny Chariot card was well loved and judging from the excitable witch's reaction, that certainly seemed the case. It was also somewhat apparent that she was hiding something as well.

"So, then…" she drawled, watching with some amusement as Akko squirmed in place, "would you care to enlighten me to as to why you keep it beneath your pillow then?"

Akko's poker face was atrocious. "Oh, uh, you know," she waved her hand far too casually, "I just thought 'where's the best spot that no one would never, ever think about other than the tooth fairy?' Under the pillow, obviously! I mean, the desk is fine an' all but you just sneeze on it, and it falls apart." To illustrate her point, she gave her desk a hard knock, and one of the drawers immediately fell out. "Er, okay, wasn't actually expecting that. Are you kidding me?!"

As amusing as Akko's attempts at deflection were, there was still some truth to be uncovered and with Diana's curiosity peaked, she needed to know. But pressing the issue would be pointless as the excitable with would simply find more excuses to argue the point. Unless…

A wicked idea sprang to her mind, one that she would've immediately quashed had she not already thrown out all pretenses of her shame. Akko wouldn't be willing to share with the usual her, true. But what if a slightly  _different_  her pressed the issue? The only problem would be the question of propriety but seeing how splendidly that had gone, Diana quickly arrived at one conclusion.

_Oh to hell with propriety._

"As lovely as the desk is," she interrupted Akko's tirade, schooling her features into what she hoped was… there was no better word to describe it,  _sultry_. Never in her imagination did Diana think she would have to attempt a sultry look of all looks. But no longer was she Diana Cavendish, prim and proper witch. No, now she was  _Diana Cavendish_ ,  _sorcière fatale_  oozing with confidence and tantalizing intrigue, with an amorous look in her eyes that could drive lesser people to madness, spur nations to wars of passion!

...Or at the very least, a small village if she was being reasonable. Her come-hither gaze could've looked constipated for all she knew.

"I do believe that you are hiding some of the truth from me, Akko," she continued in a lowered pitch that instantly got Akko's attention. She got up from the bed and leisurely sauntered over to Akko, whose expression was becoming steadily more and more akin to a deer-caught-in-the-headlights.

"Uh, Diana, what are you-?"

Before Akko could get any further, however, Diana put a finger to her lips, effectively silencing the excitable witch. It was a spur of the moment act, brought on by a sudden flash of inspiration of her current persona but it seemed to work; Akko's eyes widened to almost comical proportions before darting around the room in a bid to look anywhere save forward. Diana had to bite back a triumphant smile. Mayhap she was a more convincing actor than she initially thought.

"Honestly, I'm wounded that you don't... trust me, Akko," she crooned, drawing out the last syllable. With her free hand, she placed it underneath Akko's chin and lightly tilted her head up, forcing their gazes to meet. There was an audible gulping noise on Akko's part and Diana silently thanked her genes for the few extra inches she had on Akko. "Does our friendship really mean so little to you?"

Steam was practically pouring out of the poor girl's ears as Akko's mind attempted to right itself. "N-no! That's not- I mean-" she made an adorably flustered noise and took a deep breath to try and steady herself. Strangely, her eyes fluttered a touch after the breath before she managed to regain her bearings. "Diana, i-is this the v-venom talking… or...?"

"Shhh…" Akko immediately fell silent. Without breaking eye contact, Diana moved her free arm until it was resting innocuously on Akko's shoulder and with her other hand, she cupped the back of Akko's head, and leaned ever closer, close enough that she could hear Akko's breath speed up exponentially. Just as well, since Diana's own heart was pounding hard enough to break free of her chest.

"Perhaps it is the venom," she sighed into the excitable witch's ear. Was it her imagination or had Akko just shivered? "Or perhaps, I'm simply being more honest with… myself," she purred, lacing the pause with as much anticipation she could muster.

"But I imagine that's rather unfair, if I'm the only one being honest, wouldn't you agree?" she murmured. Akko nodded slowly, eyes half-lidded. "Perhaps you could be more honest with me as well? It would make me oh so pleased, Akko, if you told me the truth." Slowly, she ghosted a finger down the side of Akko's cheek, tracing a path to her full lips. Oh, so, pleas- _ow!_ "

Biting one's own tongue during a dramatic dialog only happened in trite plays and poorly written novels. Never in real life. Or so she thought. Because that was precisely what Diana had done, bitten down on her own tongue like some besotted nincompoop fumbling over a romantic confession and  _oh Nine, are you a fool how did you even accomplish that?!_.

And just like that, the spell was broken. Akko blinked once, twice and then began to breathe again. "Wha- Diana?" she shook her head as Diana backed away, hand over her mouth and cursing a storm underneath her breath. "O-oh, shoot, Diana are you okay?" Concern overrode all other emotions in her voice as she rushed over, arms outstretched as if to protect Diana from herself. "Hang on, lemme get some ice cubes!"

Diana desperately waved her off. "Please don't," she deadpanned, sitting down on the bed as the last minute's cumulative mortification crashed over her in waves. What had she been thinking?  _sorcière fatale_ , hah! Funny how there was still a little more dignity left to lose, just when she thought there was none left. "Just… leave me so that I may die in peace."

Despite Akko's visible concern, the excitable witch still managed to roll her eyes at the statement. "Low key drama queen, who would've known?" she muttered with just a smidge sarcasm. "Dude, Diana, it's okay! I know it's the venom driving you loopy and making you say those- oh c'mon!" she exclaimed as Diana groaned and smooshed the pillow over her own face in an attempt to drown out the outside world. "Seriously? You just gonna walk around with a pillow plastered over your face for the rest of your life?"

"Do not underestimate the Cavendish determination," was her stout reply muffled by the pillow. If only Akko knew, that every action that night had been Diana's own volition. If only she knew.

"More like Cavendish stubbornness," she heard Akko mutter before groaning herself. "Diana, c'mon!"

No answer. A beat of silence stretched out between the two and Diana took the time to try and phase her body through the bed, past the floorboards and into the molten core of the earth itself. It was childish, uncharacteristically so, but the frustration of the night combined with the humiliation she had put herself through was making it hard for her to care. It was Murphy's Law for witches.

Finally, at the point where the silence was about to become oppressive, she heard Akko let out an explosive sigh before feeling the space on the bed next to her dip slightly as the excitable witch sat down.

"Diana, hey." She felt Akko pull gently, but insistently on the pillow. "Look at me? Please?"

It was the rare subdued tone that did her in. After a few more reluctant seconds, Diana reluctantly pulled the pillow off, her vow of isolation easily broken by the excitable witch who had Diana's heart wrapped so firmly around her finger. She hadn't planned on saying anything, but the soft, reassuring smile on Akko's face broke through the remains of her stubborn resistance.

"I apologize," Diana mumbled, looking away, "for the unsightly display. I confess, being so out of my element has left me…" she racked her mind for the appropriate word, "disoriented."

Akko's lips quirked, but her reassuring smile remained, upside down in Diana's vision. "It's fine, seriously. I know it's the venom in you to blame." Untrue, but Diana wasn't going to argue that out loud. "How about this? I'm going to do something super awesome that my mom used to do for me, so that you can relax, alright? Do you promise to relax?" she asked with a hint of teasing in her eyes.

As if she could say no. Reluctantly Diana nodded, and Akko's smile grew. "Great," she exclaimed before carefully grasping the sides of Diana's head. "Now then- up and over!" With that, she lifted Diana's head before plopping it gently in her lap. "There we go. Feeling the chill yet?"

Whatever Diana was feeling was the exact opposite of the chill. In fact, as soon as she realized what Akko had done, Diana felt her own face heat up to solar temperatures making the chill quite impossible. However, she made no discernible reaction other than to nod stiffly. Just how in the world had Akko managed to do it so smoothly?

...Or maybe not. Glancing up, she saw Akko wasn't as immune to the situation as Diana thought, seeing as how the excitable witch was intently studying the spot next to Diana's head. Still, she seemed to be making a visible effort to put at her ease, so Diana kept silent and let Akko continue.

Without any preamble, the excitable witch began to gently massage her head, threading her fingers into the locks of Diana's hair. Slowly, Diana felt the tension in her shoulders begin to seep out of her, simply letting the quiet and Akko's gentle rhythm lull her into letting her guard down. Akko must've sensed it, for when she spoke again, it was in that same subdued tone, a far cry from her usual exuberance.

"Teddy bears."

Another pause. Diana blinked. She could've sworn Akko had just said… "I beg your pardon?"

Akko visibly grimaced, but her fingers kept their gentle ministrations on Diana's scalp. "You were asking why I kept your card underneath my pillow, right? So...teddy bears," she simply said, as though the answer explained everything.

At Diana's confused gaze, she shifted and scratched her cheek sheepishly. "It's like… you know, some people, they keep teddy bears next to them to help them dream happy dreams. And I," she coughed into her free hand, "just so happen to use a premium ultra-rare first edition Shiny Chariot trading card instead."

Another long pause. Akko squirmed. "Say something."

"If you told me that that in the first place, we could've avoided this situation entirely," were the first words out of Diana's mouth.

"Well... yeah, you're right" Akko agreed, before chuckling. "But you gotta admit, it was kinda funny in hindsight."

"Speak for yourself," Diana huffed, but still, she found herself chuckling a little as well. Teddy bears. Diana shook her head. Clearly, Diana was a glutton for punishment for putting herself through the entire debacle just to receive the answer of teddy bears in the end.

But... It made sense, in a sentimental Akko sort of way.

"I imagine Professor Ursula must feel honored," she teased lightly. "Does she know of your 'teddy bear?'"

At that, Akko tilted her head, brows furrowing. "Hm? What does Professor Ursula have to with anything?"

Diana scoffed. "There's no need to play coy, Akko. It is her image on the card after all."

Her brows furrowed further before understanding swept across her face. "Oh, you're talking about Shiny Chariot!" Akko thought about it for a second. "Hmmm, yeah, a little bit, I guess. But, Shiny Chariot is like, just a quarter of the reason why I keep the card so close."

Now that was intriguing. Diana lifted her head slightly to obtain a more favorable position to look Akko in the eye. She wanted to hear this. "Only a quarter? Then what about the other three-fourths?"

As if realizing what she had just admitted, Akko started in her seat. "Oh. Well, umm…" Akko squirmed again, caught between a rock and a hard place. "Aw jeez, promise you won't laugh?"

"But of course."

Her reassurance seemed to calm some of Akko's nerves, for the excitable witch gave her a weak smile, taking a brief second to brush Diana's hair again. "Well um… I keep the card nearby because it, ya know…" and despite being so close, Diana could barely hear what Akko had just uttered.

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear that last part."

In the pale light of the orb, Diana saw the tip of Akko's nose flush a lovely pink. " _Isaiditremindsmeofyou_."

It took a second to understand the rushed words but once Diana parsed the meaning, she felt compelled to say- just what, exactly? Of all the answers she had expected,  _that_  was assuredly not one of them. "I, err…" she fumbled. "Thank you?"

Her unusual tone must've alarmed Akko, because her eye's widened and she quickly shook her head before adding, "W-wait, no! O-oh gosh, that came out wrong. I-I mean, not wrong but weird, I guess. Maybe. I don't knoooooow." She let out a humiliated groan. "Feel free to stop me anytime from putting more of my foot in my mouth, by the way."

"I would, if I knew what on earth you were talking about," she replied, still baffled. When Akko let out another groan, Diana took pity on her and reached up to take Akko's hand. "What did you mean to say, Akko?"

The excitable witch looked at the hand before coming to a conclusion. "Right." Akko scratched furiously at the back of her head. "Okay, okay. So stay with me here," she took a deep breath. "We're both pretty awesome witches, right?" she asked before stopping herself and snorting. "I mean, of course we are, we stopped a freaking magic science missile made of hate and destruction with just the power of believing hearts alone. That's gotta count for something, right?"

"Of course," Diana replied, still unsure where Akko was going with her thought.

Akko nodded again. "Right, so, we're both awesome witches with a bunch of people who believe that we can do anything. Cool." Akko took a breath. "Except when we can't. Or when I can't," she clarified.

What? Where had that notion come from? Diana lifted her head up a fraction, frowning as she tried to understand the meaning of Akko's claim. "What do you mean? Akko, you are a wonderful witch." When Akko gave her a skeptical look, she added, "It's the truth. People  _believe_  in magic again because of you. They  _believe_  in you."

Akko chuckled, but the noise coming out uncharacteristically belittling. "Let's be real, Diana. People believe in me, sure. But it's not the same as me believing in myself, ya know? I mean, sure, I've got days where all my spells go right, and I feel like I'm riding Shooting Star to the top of the world. Those days are the best." she said, pausing. When she spoke again, there was misgiving in her manner as if all her accomplishments were flukes of fate.

"But then there are days where none of my spells go right no matter how hard I try and I just feel like this… this... big faker, who's letting everyone down. Those days are, I dunno…" she paused, searching for an appropriate word to describe her feelings before just shrugging helplessly. "Those kinds of days, I just… don't feel like I'm a good witch. Or ever will be."

There was a tense stretch of silence. Diana waited with baited breath for Akko to continue. Akko herself seemed to be lost in thought, still idly twirling the lock of hair.

"The day Professor Ursula told me who she really was one of those days," Akko said after the pause. She chuckled again, but this time, there was no emotion in it, not even wryness. "Talk about a crisis of faith. I was actually thinking of dropping out of Luna Nova for a bit afterwards, can you believe it?"

Diana couldn't. Akko was the very spark of what constituted her definition of magic; light and warmth, a shining beacon of potential to all. The very fact that Akko even considered such a prospect seemed so utterly foreign to her that she would be hard-pressed to believe had they not been Akko's own words. "What made you change your mind?" she asked, unsure if she wanted to hear the answer.

And here, Akko's empty expression turned into a smile, a soft, genuine smile aimed at Diana so laced with affection that it made Diana's heart stutter and stop.

" _I believe as well. I believe in your believing heart_."

Like that, the words Diana had uttered to Akko last winter came back to her in a rush of memories. "I… I see," she said, breaking eye contact first with Akko's warm gaze and trying to will her heart to settle. There was nothing inordinately exceptional about her words. Just her honest feelings. Nothing special about that. "You- you give me far too much credit," she said, hoping her voice came out steadier than she actually felt. "I was simply voicing what everyone else thought of you and your beliefs."

"Maybe, sure," Akko admitted, giving her the benefit of the doubt. "I think, if anybody else had told me that, I would've thought they were saying it just for the sake of saying it." Akko swallowed thickly. "But it was different when you said it. When you told me that it was okay to believe in my own heart, all I could think was just- just," Akko sighed breathlessly. " _Wow_ … I'm the luckiest girl in the whole wide world to have you as a friend."

Akko fell still, the lock of hair she had been twisting coming to a stop. When she spoke next, her voice was strangely shy, as if admitting an embarrassing secret. "Shiny Chariot reminded me that my magic comes from a believing heart. And that day," she took a steadying breath, as if to fortify herself for what she was about to admit. "And that day, when you gave me her card and passed your dream onto me, you reminded me to believe. Believe in my own heart. And that… that meant a lot. It-"

Akko's voice caught, and she looked away for the briefest of seconds. Yet, she seemed to find a fount of bravery within herself for she turned back and looked Diana straight in the eyes when she softly whispered her next words.

"It meant the world to me."

Warmth pooled in Diana's chest, a foreign heat that pooled in her chest and forced its way into her heart, making each beat overwhelming in its intensity. It felt like she was drowning in Akko's warm gaze filled with such adoration. But, good lord, it felt like her heart was fit to burst.

"Likewise," Diana managed to whisper back past the solid lump in her throat. "You mean the world to me as well, Akko."

Silence on Akko's part and for a nerve-wracking second, Diana thought she had said something wrong. But then she heard a sniffle and- oh.

"Oh geez," Akko sniffled again and let out a watery chuckle. "Oh geez, haha. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get so worked up like this. It's just, hearing you say that- thanks, Diana. I mean it." She hiccoughed before chuckling again. "You know, you're already super nice, but I guess the LoveLove just cranks it up to ten, huh? Not that I'm complaining."

Her words, innocent as they were, still sent a guilty pang through Diana's chest, yet she found that it didn't cut as much as she had expected. Her feelings for Akko's happiness was a trade she'd make a thousand times willingly. And if her own feelings were stung slightly in the process, then so be it. She was simply reaping what she had sown after all.

Well, that and whatever Manbavaran had thrown into the mix. But the mad witch would get her just desserts, in due time.

Without any thought, Diana reached up and gently thumbed away the tears gathering at the bottom of Akko's eyes. "Perhaps. And you're very welcome, Akko. Just, no more tears on my behalf, alright?" she said with a light smile back at the excitable witch. "This is a sleepover, after all, and to quote your words, we are to eat copious amounts of junk food and watch terrible romantic comedies and judge them accordingly, correct?"

In response, Akko's eyes lit up, and she nodded vigorously with a mouth-splitting grin. "Awww, there's hope for you yet. And I dunno what you're talking about. My eyes are just super sensitive to emotion, that's all. Freak coincidence," she haughtily huffed, though the effect was ruined by that same grin.

"But of course," Diana responded with a smaller yet similar smile of her own. Bending over, she picked the orb up off the ground and tapped it, letting the display flickering on from its sleep mode. "Now what do you say you to…" she checked the description of the movie she had randomly selected, " _An American Necromancer in London: A Love Story in this Life and the Next_!"

Akko took the orb from her hands, placing it between the two of them. "Sounds like hot garbage," she said before her grin widened. "Let's do it!"

They spent the rest of the night ripping apart the movie. Akko had a bone to pick with the movies unflattering portrayal of the undead ( _Captain Holbrook was the sweetest zombie I've ever met! Crazy as a bat but very sweet!_ ) and Diana took particular offense to the principal actor's atrocious English accent ( _Contrary to popular belief, we DO NOT start every sentence with "Oi, mate!" or "How's it been, guv'nor," or whatever it is- stop laughing, Akko!_ ).

The morning, come what may, but that night was a bright memory for the two of them alone.

* * *

 

When Diana woke the next morning, it was to a warm, comforting weight wrapped around her waist and the sound of soft snoring in her ear

Her first instinct was to jerk back in surprise, but that was impossible. The weight simply grumbled a bit before wrapping even tighter.  _What on earth- oh._

The night's previous events rushed back to her in a wave like a sick sort of hangover and Diana couldn't help but utter a small groan before putting a hand over her eyes _. I can't believe I faked the symptoms of a LoveLove sting for an entire night, she thought disbelievingly. What was I thinking? What on earth could have possibly possessed me to do such a thing?_

Her answer made another grumbling noise, muttering something along the line of "teddy bears," and Diana felt her lips move upwards in a wry smile. Carefully, she turned around so that she could look at Akko's face. She had to smile a bit as Akko continued to snore obliviously, drooling slightly as she did so.

Hard to imagine that this is the face of the person who single-handedly saved the country from all-out war. Diana fondly pushed a stray lock out of Akko's face, noting idly how atrocious her bed head was. Atrocious and ridiculously charming.

Then again, surface appearances were hardly telling of what lied underneath, as evidenced by events last night. Akko's heart was much bigger than people gave her credit for. Bigger and braver than Diana's would ever be.

But maybe… she could take the first few steps to being a little braver herself.

"I believe you were mistaken last night," Diana whispered, making sure not wake the slumbering witch. "When you said you were the luckiest person alive to have me as a friend, it was the other way around. I am the truly fortunate one for having known you. You have made my life richer for simply being in it and mere words cannot begin to express my gratitude...but I suppose, a thank you would be a good start," she said, adding a teasing smile to the end of her sentence. A few seconds more of silence in the early morning light, barely peeking through the curtains. Slowly, the smile on her face faded.

"You were very honest with me last night, Akko, and I'm afraid, I cannot say the same for myself." She took Akko's hand in her own, savoring the last few seconds of stolen contact before the world outside forced her to adopt customary mask.

"I hope you can forgive me for that. But I swear to the stars above, I will be a little braver from now on, for your sake as well as mine. Believe in me."

Her whispered confession elicited no reaction from the slumbering witch save for more light snoring. Diana stared for a few seconds more, smiling softly before shaking her head and extracting herself from Akko's embrace.

It was time for her to be Diana Cavendish once again.

She managed to gather all her belongings with a minimal amount of noise, but her uniform was another matter. It was in the suite along with the rest of her clothes so she had no other option but to dress herself with magic. With a flick of her wand, her nightwear turned into a magical replica of her school uniform though the accompanying sparking noise made Diana wince.

Apparently, it was enough to wake Akko, who snorted once before jerking up in surprise. "Whu-whuh, whozzat?" She blinked owlishly, eyes squinted as she fumbled for her wand. "Whoever you are, I sorta, kinda know magic!"

Diana's lips quirked upwards before she forced them down again. No more silly games. She cleared her throat. "Good morning, Akko."

Akko's eyes focused owlishly on her. "Oh. Hey, Diana. Mornin'" she let out a massive yawn, stretching her arms out above her before- " _GAHH DIANA!_ "

Diana winced at the loud  _thump!_  as Akko went tumbling head over heels off her bed, but the excitable witch simply rebounded back up, no worse for wear. "I-I mean, uh, g-good morning to you too!" she let out a nervous giggle, rubbing the back of her head. "You, uh, sleep well?"

It had been the best sleep she had in years. Diana dipped her head amiably. "Well enough, thank you. You?"

"Like a log. Sorta. Kinda." Akko nervously cleared her throat. "So...um…" the excitable witch bit her lip. It was painfully evident that the excitable witch wanted to ask about the events of last night, but was unsure of how to tactfully bring it up.

Diana took pity on her and took the initiative. "About last night," she began, straightening her posture to give Akko her full attention. "I must apologize for such an unbecoming display. My behavior was unacceptable and my conduct, even more so." She took a deep breath before bowing low. "That being said, you have my utmost gratitude for the kindness and consideration you showed me. Despite my boorish behavior, I hope you can find it within yourself to look past it, for the sake of our friendship."

When Diana looked up, she could've sworn she saw a flash of what looked to be disappointment on Akko's face before it disappeared into a ready smile. "Aw psh, don't worry about it, Diana. Water under the bridge. Besides," she grinned rakishly and winked, "you're going to have to try harder than that if you wanna get rid of me."

That got a ghost of a smile to flicker across Diana's lips. So much for her proclaimed self-control. "Bother, am I really that transparent?" she remarked dryly, and Akko's smile widened. "In any case, I'll leave you to your rest. I must check in on Hanna and Barbara and the others."

Hearing that, Akko scrambled forward. "O-oh, uh, I'll come with! Lotte's probably worried sick and- oh. Ah, crud." Akko scratched her cheek sheepishly. "You wouldn't happen to have a spare uniform hanging around by any chance?"

Easily remedied. With a flick of her wand, Diana cast a similar spell that quickly turned Akko's nightwear into a perfect replica of the excitable witch's usual school uniform. Well, near perfect. She had taken some liberties with the absolute territory, if only for the sake of Diana's own sanity. She stowed her wand away and gestured ahead. "After you."

They made their way through the school, back to the suite with Diana taking the lead. The school was quiet, for the most part, save for the odd goblin worker and the sleep-deprived student who had apparently spent the whole night studying in the library. It was only when they neared the suite that Diana felt Akko tug on her sleeve.

"Hey, before we go in," Akko leaned in closer to whisper, despite the relative emptiness of the hallway, "are you sure you're feeling one hundred percent better? We never really did figure out if riding out the venom actually works or not."

Diana paused, quickly considering her options. Seeing as how there wasn't actually a LoveLove involved, the best choice would be feigning ignorance. "For the most part," she admitted slowly, schooling her features to look slightly troubled. A flash of inspiration hit her and she winced, putting her hand to the side of her head. "There are noticeable gaps in my memory. Most of what I can recall of last night are my emotions." She pursed her lips. "I do remember watching the film with you though. That was rather enjoyable."

Looking back at Akko, it took most of Diana's willpower not to wince again at the sad puppy look on her face. But it was quickly replaced with an understanding grin. "Ah, cool, cool. Well, it was mostly me just running my fat mouth for most of the time so no big loss," she said, turning the knob and opening the door. "But if you ever do remember something just lemme-  _ **holy crap!**_ "

Diana peered past Akko's frame and-  _ **good heavens**_ **.**

What she had thought earlier, that Albrechtsberger had the messiest dorm, was no longer the case. Diana's suite went above and beyond anything imaginable. Diana could only gape dumbly at the sheer chaos that had torn its way through the suite. Furniture was upturned, food and cream smeared the walls, and an absurdly large hole in the glass window were just a few of the things she could see at a glance. And that was only the living room.

"There goes the security deposit," Akko muttered in a voice filled with awe and just a tinge of reverence at the entropy before her. "What happened here?"

Before Diana could answer, a voice that sounded suspiciously like O'Neill's floated from behind the upturned couch. "Heyyyy, you guys came back!"

Diana and Akko exchanged glances. "Would you mind…?" Diana gestured, a bit helplessly, to the couch. Where to even begin?

Akko, bless her heart, simply nodded in understanding. "I'm on it. You do whatever you need to do, Diana."

Diana returned the nod, relieved and grateful beyond words for the excitable witch's perception. "Thank you, Akko," she said, before picking her way past the debris. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Akko kneel down and gently prod Jansson's sleeping form.

She didn't have to walk far before a giggling noise coming from beneath the dining table caught Diana's attention. Warily, she poked the table cloth with her toe before flipping it over. When she saw who was under the table though, her wariness quickly morphed into ire.

"Hanna! Barbara!"

To their credit, the two guilty witches, wrapped snugly in a blanket draped over their shoulders, jumped a bit before relaxing when they saw who it was. "Oh, Diana!" Barbara giggled in the way of greeting. "Don't scare us like that! Say something next time."

"There won't be a next time, as far as I'm concerned," Diana threatened in a low tone. To her surprise, Barbara merely stuck her tongue out at her before nuzzling into Hanna's neck.

"Party pooper," she pouted and Barbara snickered before nuzzling back. "Like, lighten up a bit, Diana. The suite's still standing, and everyone's in one piece, more or less. Life's too short to worry about the small stuff."

"Besides," Hanna chimed in with a knowing wink. "It's not like you had a little fun with a certain witch yourself last night."

Heat flared up from beneath Diana's collar at her teammate's implications. "I- That has nothing to do with-  _for the love of the Nine, cease your snuggling at once_!" she stammered, scandalized as she watched Hanna nibble at the spot just below Barbara's earlobe, drawing a delighted squeal from the other witch. She put a hand to her brow in a futile attempt to stop the spinning. "Good lord, what on earth happened here?!"

"Don't mind them," drawled Manbavaran, appearing quite literally out of nowhere next to her, and Diana let out a surprised yelp before drawing away. "There just feeling the side effects is all." She let out a cavernous yawn. "You wouldn't happen to have any nibbles on you, would you? I haven't had a solid bite to eat since Amanda tossed the tea tray out the window."

"I- no- what?" Already, Diana could feel the beginnings of a migraine settling in behind her eyes. She pinched her nose, trying to stave it off as her thoughts whirled in her mind. "Why would O'Neill throw the tea tray out the window?" she finally settled on asking. One problem at a time.

Manbavaran shrugged. "Beats me. I guess she freaked out a little when I told everyone that I spiked one of the cups with LoveLove venom."

Ah. That would certainly explain it. "I see," Diana muttered, rubbing distractedly at her brow as she- " _ **You did what?!**_ "

Manbavaran fixed her with a particularly disappointing look. "There was absolutely no case of ambiguity in that sentence, you do know that?" she said dryly, as if that was the problem.

Before Diana could even begin forming a response, Barbara suddenly piped up. "Hey, I know it's none of my business, but like, Diana, you mind having your meltdown somewhere else? Kinda harshing on our parade right now."

Diana numbly dropped the table cloth, leaving her two teammates to- nooooooope, no, not going down that train of thought. Instead, she rounded on Manbavaran, who hadn't even bothered to try and hide her sharp grin. "You said you wouldn't use any illicit substances!" she hissed between clenched teeth. "That wasn't part of the deal!"

Manbavaran held up a finger. "Counterpoint, I said I wouldn't use any illicit substances on Akko or yourself to get you two in the same room. Everyone else was fair game."

"Yes but Hanna and Barbara-!" Diana began, before stopping herself as she realized that the devil was in the details.  _Oh no._

"Were simply the participants of a little social experiment of mine," Manbavaran cut in. "Unknowing, sure. Unwilling, well…" she shrugged, gesturing to the tablecloth, where giggles were still emanating from beyond. "I think the results speak for themselves."

And blast it, the mad witch was right. She had played into the devil's hands just like that. Diana opened her mouth to rebuttal Manbavaran, to argue the nuances, to do anything.

"Does Akko know?" was what came out instead.

"Hmmm…" the mad witch took out a pocket watch from inside her robes and popped open the lid. "Well, knowing her, she should be finding out right about…"

" _ **Wait, what?!**_ " came a distinctly Akko screech from somewhere in the common area.

"Now." Manbavaran pocketed the watch and gave her an almost pitying look, ruined by the mile-wide grin on her countenance. "If it's any consolation, I think you have about oh, ten seconds tops before her mind starts functioning again."

Diana didn't need to be told twice. She bolted for the door, throwing open the door along with the last dregs of her self-respect aside. She darted out into the hallway and began running, barely hearing the cackles coming from within the suite.

" _ **Diana!**_ " The blonde cursed as a familiar voice called out behind her. Curse Akko and her dogged perseverance. She chanced a glance over her shoulder, seeing Akko hot on her heels, looking a cross between supremely irate and supremely flustered and maybe, just maybe, a tinge thrilled. What a combination.

"Diana, don't you dare run away from me! You've got so so so so so so so so so so  _ **SO**_  much explaining to do, buster!"

Without thinking, Diana reached into her robe and pulled out her wand and aimed it at the ceiling, unsure of what she was actually casting, only thinking desperately of a way to put some distance between her and the person of her affections. There was a tremendous  _ **bang!**_  followed by indignant spluttering from Akko as dazzling, golden dust began falling from the sky. "For the love of- a pixie bomb, are you serious Diana?!  _DIANA!_ "

She couldn't answer. How could she? Her face was aflame. Her whole body was aflame, like a comet blazing in the night sky.

 _So much for bravery_ , thought Diana, cutting straight through the stars in her wake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: Okay, so the first chapter went a little longer than expected, but the second chapter should be shorter and easier to write, right?
> 
> Me, but an additional 13,000 words later: That's where you're wrong kiddo


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akko throws a show. It goes as well as you'd expect.

Akko had a plan. It was a genius plan, born from her natural intellect and inspired heavily by the glistening pixie dust Diana had oh so thoughtfully thrown in her face during her great escape. And despite being a genius, foolproof plan, the materials needed were all surprisingly simple to obtain. All it required was a big, black cloak, some contraband from Constanze, two brooms from the training field and a favor from Professor Ursula.

And Diana, but finding the blonde witch was the easy part. Akko would bet her Shiny Chariot Card that the blonde witch would be hiding in the greenhouse where the Jennifer Memorial Tree was housed. Call it intuition, or her finely tuned Diana sense, but Akko knew, just  _knew_ , that the blonde witch would be hiding there, what with her connection to nature and her ancestor, the Olde Witch Beatrix. After all, it was the only place on the school grounds Diana would feel even remotely comfortable at after being so forcefully punted outside of her comfort zone.

By the time Akko was done gathering her items and making her way to the greenhouse, the sun had long since set, leaving only a clear night sky and crescent moon in its wake.  _But hey_ , Akko thought grimly as she opened the door to the greenhouse,  _at least we'll have a good view when things start going boom._

Even without the warmth of the sun, the inside of the greenhouse was still stuffy as heck, though that probably had something to do with the cumbersome black cloak Akko was wearing, never mind the brooms strapped to her back. Akko hardly gave it a thought as she approached the massive oak. She paused briefly to admire what was left of the chrysalises from the Pappyodylia, the sight wringing a reluctant smile to her face, before turning her attention back to the massive tree.

"I know you're there, Diana."

No response. That was okay. Akko hadn't really been expecting one anyway. Still, she continued talking as she circled the base of the tree.

"C'mon, Diana, you know you can't hide forever from me." Akko knocked on the trunk, testing if the force would dislodge anything. No luck. Akko moved on. "Like, it's literally impossible. I was voted most likely to find the needle in the haystack through sheer stubbornness in elementary school, so you know I'm gonna find you, sooner or later."

Still nothing. Akko huffed. So Diana wanted to play hardball, huh? Bring it on.

Akko sucked in a deep breath. " _HEY EVERYONE DIDJA KNOW THAT DIANA CAVENDISH HAS A BIG FAT GINORMOUS CRUSH ON-!_ "

" _AKKO!_ " and just like that, Diana shimmered into view on a large branch near the middle, beet red and utterly scandalized as she dropped her cloaking spell. "You can't simply announce-! That's- have you no shame?!" she spluttered, gesturing indignantly with her wand.

Akko rolled her eyes. Pot meet kettle and never mind the fact that there was nobody around to hear them, human or otherwise. "Yeah, yeah, don't you dare move. I'm coming up," she said, ignoring the feeble protests from Diana as she hefted herself up on a low-hanging branch.  _Oof_. Actually, this probably wasn't a good idea, considering all the junk she was carrying on her. Well, too late to back down now. Akko lifted herself up on another branch.  _Just jump, jump, jump, ju- oop, that's not a branch oh crap, falling falling FALLING-!_

A tendril of bright golden magic whipped out from above and wrapped around Akko's ankle, jerking her to a forceful stop. Unfortunately, what it didn't stop was the whiplash and the painful impact between her skull and the tree.  _Hullo dark spots my old friend._

Akko swore under her breath, blinking furiously to try and clear the spots in her vision. Somehow, thankfully, she had managed to hold onto everything. Small comfort. "Owowowowow, kay next time, just lemme fall."

The magic tendril did not deign to respond, choosing instead to slowly haul Akko to the top, where she was met face-to-face with an upside down Diana. Or was it right side up? Akko wasn't sure, what with all the blood rushing to her head

Despite the dim lighting, Akko could still make out Diana's features. She was still dressed in her school uniform, but the put-together witch looked uncharacteristically haggard. Somehow, the bags underneath her eyes had deepened, and Akko saw bits of stray leaves scattered about in her ordinarily pristine hair. Exasperation, nervousness, and worry all warred on her face for a second more, before exasperation finally won out.

"Do not tempt me," she muttered, flicking her wand again. The tendril flipped Akko right side up, depositing her on the branch before fading out of existence.

Akko brushed herself off, checking to make sure everything was still in place. You could never be too sure after all. "Thanks."

Diana nodded stiffly. "It was nothing," she said, hesitating a second before gesturing at Akko with her wand. "Do you- are you in need of medical attention?"

"Nah, I'm good. Hard head, ya know?" she said, knocking it for good measure.

Diana nodded again, crossing an arm over her chest. "Good. That's good."

"Yeah."

And with that pithy statement, the most  _awkward_  silence in the history of awkward silences descended upon the two. All of the energy, the righteous indignation Akko had mustered up in the last few hours beforehand had popped like a balloon, replaced with a heart that was beating just a tad  _too_  fast, which spelled  _disaster_  for Akko's plan. She had to at least  _pretend_  to be angry at Diana for her plan to work.

Akko chanced a glance at Diana, only to catch the blonde witch staring straight back at her. Diana flinched at being caught before quickly averting her gaze to her feet, a soft pink blush highlighting the tip of her nose.

_Well, that's just freaking adorable… Wait, no angry, remember? Angry! Rarrr!_

Diana shifted her weight from one leg to the other, eyes still fixed on her feet. "What are you doing here, Akko?" she asked, with the faintest hint of accusation in her voice.

_...Annnnnnnd suddenly, not so hard to be angry!_

Akko bristled. "What am I- are you being serious?" She took a small step forward (it was a big branch, but Akko wasn't going to take any chances) right into Diana's personal bubble, eyes blazing and hackles raised as she prepared to give the blonde witch a piece of her mind because first of all, how dare she and second of all  _ **how dare she.**_

Akko took another step, gratified to see Diana flinch and take a step back in response, looking to all the world like she was quite regretting her word choice. "You know exactly why I'm here, buster!" she jabbed an accusing finger at Diana's chest. "So don't even try to play dumb with me! It may have worked last night but not this time!"

Diana's eyes darted wildly, looking desperately for an escape route and finding none. The arm crossed over her chest tightened, as if bracing herself for the worst. "I… Must we talk about this now?" she muttered, trying to stall. Her request didn't come out with a whimper,  _per se_. But it came  _prettttty_  close.

"Oh, so we're not gonna talk about the big, bloated, bright blue elephant in the room?"

"That's not-" Diana stopped, putting a hand bewilderedly to her brow. "Why is the elephant blue…"

Because blue just so happened to be Akko's favorite color (and the color of Diana's eyes) but  _unimportant!_  What was important, was that Akko kept that indignation engine hot and running before she totally lost all her nerve and Diana saw through the smoke and mirrors. "Never mind the fact that you tricked me into thinking you'd been spiked by a LoveLove.  _Again._  Bet you thought it was hilarious, didn't you, playing me like a dummy." Akko scoffed. "Sure know how to make a girl feel special, Diana."

If people could physically wilt like flowers, then that was precisely what was happening to Diana. At the last part though, Diana's head shot up, stricken. "N-no! Akko...that wasn't my intent to-to- insult your intelligence or-or-

"And let's not forget," Akko interrupted before Diana could get in another word edgewise, "once everything was said and done... you pixie bombed me! In the face! Do you have any idea how hard it is to get that stuff out of hair?"(Surprisingly not that hard, bless you, Lotte!) "And after all that…" Akko fixed Diana with a hard, hard stare that would've made a gorgon envious, "all you can say is not now?"

For the first time since Akko had known her, Diana had no response. Her mouth moved up and down, but no words came out, as though she had suddenly lost her voice. After a few wordless seconds, she simply hung her head, looking thoroughly, utterly miserable.

"I… I…"

For a second, Akko felt her resolve falter. Geez… Diana's reaction was like kicking a puppy but worse, like- like kicking over a box of ten puppies. Wrapped up in pink bows. With a box of bunnies by the side. So much for keeping that indignation engine even running. Akko held her accusatory posture for another second.

And then she backed off. "Fine." She shrugged. "We won't talk about it."

Diana's head shot up. "I...P-pardon?" she began, caught off guard. Before she could get any further, Akko stuck a broom in her face.

"Let's go flying."

Now Diana appeared wholly lost, blinking almost owlishly at her, then the broom. There was a brief uncertain moment of hesitation where Akko thought Diana would refuse, for whatever reason and that would  _totally_ screw with the plan. But the moment passed, and Diana gingerly took the broom from her hand. She stared at it for a second, before looking back at Akko, expression apprehensive.

"Where to?"

Akko didn't respond. Instead, she settled down on her own broom and concentrated on the magical energy flowing in the leylines beneath her. " _Tia Freyre!_ "

The broom lurched to life underneath her, wobbling precariously in the air for a second before adjusting to a shaky idle. Akko bit her lip. Well, crud. A shaky broom wasn't a good sign; flying magic was mostly dependent on the caster's inner emotional state and the fact that her broom looked ready to keel over and die any second now spoke volumes about hers.

Glaring, Akko focused as hard as she could and somehow managed to smooth out the worst of the wobbling. She gave it five minutes before it reverted back to a quivering mess which was plenty of time to get where she needed. Hopefully. Maybe.

Next to her, Diana had seemingly not noticed her struggles or had chosen to ignore them tactfully. She muttered the incantation and Akko noted with a sympathetic wince that the blonde witch's broom seemed to be suffering the same problem as hers; it hovered almost anemically in the air.

"Follow me." Akko pushed off the branch, not waiting for Diana's response. There was a brief moment of panic as Akko's doubt and the forces of gravity took their hold on her. But then the broom kicked into life, and with a sigh of relief, she began to cruise, albeit shakily, in the sky. A second later and Diana popped into vision to her side, following a little back.

The two of them were silent as they flew. Akko took the moment of reprieve to check the conditions of the sky. She took a deep breath through her nose of the night air. Chilly, but not unbearably so. And the sky was still blessedly clear, the crescent moon the only source of light in the darkness. Excellent.

As she observed everything, Akko found her gaze inevitably wandering over to her flying companion. Even on a broom, Diana's posture was textbook perfect, her gaze laser-focused on the horizon as her hair trailed gracefully behind her in the wind and wow, if that didn't take Akko's breath away. It was like….like looking at a painting, but a really, really good one, like the best painting, ever. Or… no. It was more like….like… aw, screw it.

Diana was  _stunning_ , simple as that. And maybe that wouldn't be so bad in comparison if the blonde witch had some sort of ugly inner flaw, like having a hobby of making fun of the poor or being a morning person but  _nooooo_ , she just had to be gorgeous on the inside as well. Heart twistingly, stupidly, gorgeous, inside and out. Just looking at her made each beat of Akko's heart twitch with a sharp pang that left her giddy, terrified and exhilarated, all at once. For a second, Akko debated just dropping the act and confessing everything out into the open, just so that her heart could get off the rollercoaster that was Mr. Emotions Wild Ride.

_Uh, hullo, Akko here, I've had this super big crush on you since forever and I just found out through my (clinically) insane friend and a cup of tea that I thought was spiked but not actually spiked that you also sorta, kinda, maybe have a crush on me back?_

Pfft, yeah. Like that would ever work.

Suddenly, Akko noticed a familiar structure closing in the distance and she pulled up lightly on her broom. "Stop here," she called out to Diana, pointing down.

She saw recognition spark in Diana's eyes as the two of them touched down on the platform to the leyline station. As Akko dismounted her broom, she noted with some nostalgia that the last time she was here at the station, she had been trying to convince Diana to stay at Luna Nova instead of heading back home to run the Cavendish estate. What had been her reason to get Diana to stay again? Oh yeah. Something, something can't-let-my-destined-rival-leave something something.

Rivals, riiiiiight.

Akko snorted. Apparently the Nile flowed strong in this corner of the world as well.

"What…" Diana spoke up, breaking the silence. She glanced over to Akko, before averting her gaze, clutching her broom like some sort of lifeline. "What are we doing here?"

Akko faced away, crouching down and began pulling out all her supplies and placing them on the ground. "You'll see. Just sit tight," she gestured vaguely with her hand before fixing the blonde witch with a suspicious squint. "You better not even  _think_  about running off again, got it?"

Diana flinched at the accusation, but she nodded in assent. Satisfied, Akko turned back to her growing pile of items and began carefully sorting them. The crystals that Constanze had lent her looked to be intact, despite the rough handling earlier at the memorial tree. Thank the Nine for that. Her experience with pyrotechnics was limited but Akko was sure anything that had even the slightest chance to go boom around her was best handled with caution. And behind several blast walls, but hey, beggars, choosers and what not.

Akko took out her wand, opening up the compartment on the side and clicked one of the red crystals into the currently empty chamber. She waited for a second, frowning when nothing happened. She gave her wand a vigorous shake and, with an unsteady flicker, the green glow at the tip finally turned a weak crimson. Oooookay. So far, so good?

"Akko…" she heard Diana say behind her. Akko ignored her, too busy concentrating on the task at hand. "Akko…" Diana tried again. There was a moment of silence. And then, quietly...

"I'm sorry."

That got Akko to pause, her heart suddenly stuttering at Diana's whispered apology. She gulped but kept her back turned to Diana, instead readying the next crystal. Her hands shook a bit and she willed them to stay steady as she listened.

"I'm sorry," Diana repeated, and judging by her quiet tone, she really did sound repentant. Wretched even. "Last night, it… it was never my intention to insult your intelligence or to make light of your feelings. I didn't- circumstances played out in a way that I could never imagine and… and I panicked. I took advantage of your trust because of that. It was a wretched, despicable, selfish thing to do and I- I know…"

There was a tense pause where Akko didn't even dare to breathe.

"I know it seems like I'm putting on airs but… I swear to you, on my family name, I never meant to cause you any harm. I swear. I… I…" she heard Diana swallow thickly.

"I cherish you too much to do such."

The last part was whispered so quietly that Akko had to strain her ears to hear it. The crystals laid inert in her hand, completely forgotten at the moment. When Diana spoke next, there was a catch in her voice.

"I will accept whatever punishment you deem appropriate. And I understand, if you wish to b-break all relations with me, I-I..."

_Screw the plan._

Akko shot up, the sudden movement sending her cloak into a flurry. She heard Diana inhale sharply, but Akko made no move to turn around. Instead, she looked up at the sky above her, focusing all her attention on a starless night.

"You drove me crazy for the longest time, you know?" Akko said, addressing the silence. "Your grades, your looks, your…" she gestured helplessly at the sky. "Everything. Just everything about you made me want to pull my hair out and gnash my teeth, because no matter where you were, or who you were with, you always, always,  _always_  shined brighter than everyone else. Always. And that drove me nuts because I just… I just...

I just wanted so  _badly_  to shine as bright as you did."

There was no response from Diana. Akko hadn't been expecting any. This was her moment. She took a deep breath, her fingers shaking as she unbuttoned her cloak.

"Well, guess what?"

Without warning, she spun on her heel, tearing the cloak off with a satisfying flourish, letting it float off in the sudden, fortuitous breeze. She placed her hands on her hips, standing tall, taller than she actually felt.

"It's my turn now."

Diana's eyes boggled. Standing there, in a close replica of Shiny Chariot's outfit in all of its splendor, Akko let a hint of satisfaction seep into her posture at Diana's visceral reaction. The gaping mouth alone was worth the extra pounds and effort the cloak Akko had used to conceal the Shiny Chariot outfit because damn if she didn't feel like she was on top of the world at the moment.

_Now comes the hard part._

Spurred on by the sudden bout of confidence, Akko used her toe and kicked her broom up, catching it with a twirl. She turned to face Diana and put on her biggest, brightest grin that just had to be visible from the moon and beyond.

"Just watch! I'll show you just how bright a star I can be!"

And with that, Akko turned and jumped.

As the wind rushed past her, she heard Diana yell out in surprise, "AKKO!" but she ignored it, concentrating instead on one final prayer to her magic _. Ooh, hey, Magic, my buddy, my pal, my ol' frenemy. I know we don't always get along but if you gave me just five to ten minutes of your full cooperation, you'd be doing me a real solid, kay thanks!_

As best as she could with gravity's pull on her, Akko forced the broom underneath her feet so that she was standing on it and with a shout, " _Tia Freyre!_ "

The broom lurched beneath her and Akko nearly lost her balance, remembering to shout out just in time a sticking spell as she sped into the night sky. Heart pounding, Akko settled into a speedy cruise as she got her bearings. Holy Shiny Rod, how the heck did Amanda make standing on her broom look so easy? In hindsight, it probably would've been a good idea to ask Amanda for some tips before attempting to ride the broom with her feet for  _the first time, ever_.

Akko tested shifting her weight to the left and right and grimaced as the wood let out an audible groan before obeying her commands. Well, at least she was going fast. She did a few quick circuits, more to try and impress her audience than anything before moving on to the next part of her plan.

Reaching down, Akko took out the pouch at her hip and lifted the top, nearly getting a faceful of pixie dust for her troubles thanks to the wind. Freaking pixie dust. Easy enough to clean up if you knew the spell but just as easy to make a mess with if you weren't careful. Or facing mach-speed wind force, either or.

Coughing, Akko released the pouch, letting the delicate golden sparkles trail behind her like the tail end of a comet. With her other hand, she opened her wand and jabbed it at the golden path. The tip still had the crimson glow, but it seemed dimmer than it had been a minute earlier. No time to worry about it now though.

" _Diphulaniado!_ "

A crimson orb coalesced at the tip of her wand and with a mighty heave, Akko lobbed it straight into the trail.

The reaction was immediate. As soon as the orb made contact, it exploded, a rainbow of sparks of every which color shooting forth. Akko yelped, putting up an arm to cover her eyes and somehow managing to keep her balance on the broom as the shockwave sent her careening. Once she got her bearings, she stopped and gaped. When Constanze had promised her a flash and a bang, Akko had been expecting something along the lines of some pretty, low-key fireworks,  _not the freaking sun exploding in her face holy crap._

Well, too late to back down now. Despite having the visual flair of a miniature supernova, the fireworks also seemed to have an approximate lifespan of nothing. Already, the rainbow glow was fading into the dark. Akko gritted her teeth and willed her broom to begin speeding into the sky as she prepared her next one.

" _Diphulaniado!_ "

Another cacophony of sound and color exploded behind her, this one smaller than the one before. Akko cursed and fired again. Constanze had assured her that the crystals would shoot continuously once they absorbed enough pixie dust, but like a picky fire spirit in a campfire filled with fuel, they were refusing to catch and light.

" _Diphulaniado! Diphulaniado!_   _ **DIPHULANIADO!**_ "

The last orb she fired must've heard the frustration (desperation) in her voice. There was a massive, ear-shattering  _ **bang!**_  that sent shockwave out in every which direction and finally, finally, the sky began to light up in a chain reaction of dazzling sounds and colors.  _ **Boom! Btoom baBOOM!**_

Akko panted heavily, hands on her knees and trying to catch her breath as she surveyed the fruits of her labor. A beeping sound from her wand forced her to look down. The battery meter flashed red at her before the compartment opened up and spat out the spent crystal. Welp, there went the last of her magic. She was flying the broom entirely on fumes and sheer stubbornness of will at this point. At least the fireworks were working as intended now. They were striking, they were dazzling, they were…

Allllllllready dying out. Akko groaned. Craaaaaaap. She had to move fast if she wanted the fireworks to serve as a backdrop to last into the final most crucial part of her plan AKA The Firework Confession. Turning the broom around, she began descending to the platform, willing the stupid broom to go faster before her time ran out.

The broom must've somehow sensed her frustration and decided to retaliate. A quarter of the way down, it jerked spastically once, twice and with the creaking groan of wood, went dead beneath her feet.

"WHOA!"

"AKKO!"

Thankfully, she wasn't too high up, so Akko at least managed to land on her feet. The momentum pitched her forward and she was left pinwheeling her arms like an idiot as she tried to stop...

And ran right into Diana's outstretched arms.

"Akko! Are you alright? Akko!"

Akko looked up. Diana stared back at her, the worry plain in her eyes as she drew her closer, completely missing the colorful display of light behind her. All of Diana's attention was on her, like she was the only person in the world at the moment. This close, Akko could make out every feature of Diana's face all framed in the light.

"Akko, please," she pleaded, drawing her even closer. She cupped Akko's face and Akko found herself leaning slightly into the touch. Diana was just so  _warm_. "Say something."

Right. The plan. Right. Akko had a speech and everything memorized for this moment. She was having trouble remembering how it began though. Her thoughts were just a fuzzy jumble in her head. There was a ringing in her ears. How did her speech start again? Oh right.

Akko opened her mouth.

"I love you."

Diana froze.

…  _Wait. That's not how the speech starts. That's not how it starts at all… What did I just say?_

_..._

_Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh myyyyyyyyyyyy_ _**gaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwd** _

Akko tore herself out of Diana's grip, backpedaling furiously. Diana let her and just stared back, her expression frozen, eyes the size of saucers. Crap, crud, cripes. Too much,  _way_  too much, too soon! "I-I mean I-I," she babbled, searching for any excuse in her head to what she had admitted. So much for the speech. "I...I…"

But there was no excuse forthcoming. Nothing. Akko dropped her hands. There was nothing she could say to salvage the situation. Nothing. All pretenses of the plan had been lost.

She lifted her head to look back at Diana. The pang in her chest was back now, the feelings of fear and exhilaration amplified tenfold. She could physically feel her entire body trembling as she laid her feelings bare.

"I love you," she admitted again. "A-and I know that sounds stupid coming from me since I'm not as smart or as pretty or-or-or as brilliant as you." Akko swallowed, feeling her chest constrict in terror, in liberation, she didn't know.

"But I will be, one day! I promise! I-I'll work hard and show you, that-that I can be a star too! I promise! I- !"

A particularly sad whine from behind interrupted her confession. Akko turned around and her heart sank as she saw what was left of her pitiful magic spell. The fireworks were just dismal pinpricks of light now, fading into the nothingness. No. No, no, no! Angrily, Akko whipped out her wand.

" _Diphulaniado!_ "

Nothing. Standing there, in the fading light, Akko felt the back of her eyes prick uncomfortably. She rubbed furiously at them before trying again. " _Diphulaniado! Diphulaniado!_ "

A feeble spark ignited at the tip. It flew a few inches haphazardly in the air before it simply died out, giving up the ghost, leaving them in darkness.

"I...I…" There was a lump in her throat, making it impossible to speak. It didn't matter. There was nothing worthwhile left to be said.

"I just wanted to be your star," she whispered into the empty sky, "like how you're mine."

There was no response. Akko closed her eyes, kneading them with her knuckles. Stupid. Stupid. What had she been thinking? She was just Akko, a stupid, stupid witch who just got lucky. She wasn't special. She wasn't a star. She was- she was...

A warm hand closed over hers. Akko's head shot up.

Diana stood next to her, staring up at the empty sky. Her expression was unreadable, but the hand in hers was gentle.

"You silly girl," she whispered, and there was such an overwhelming fondness in her voice that Akko stopped breathing. "You silly, beautiful, brilliant,  _wonderful_  girl."

Slowly, Diana raised their hands, holding the wand high above their heads. The wand suddenly sparked, crackled and began to glow, brighter than before, a veritable beacon in the dark.

"I thought you knew, Akko."

Akko couldn't breathe. She could only stare upwards at their hands. "K-know what?" she whispered.

Diana turned her head, looking Akko straight in the eye. There was fire in her gaze, fire mixed with a slew of emotions: Passion, understanding, joy and most of all, a fierce adoration, so overwhelmingly strong that it took all of the air out of Akko.

"You are already…  _ **my shooting star!**_ "

And with that, she brought their hands down.

Tendrils of every which color burst forth from her wand, flying out as a crescent stream of bright, sparkling ribbons. Akko watched, mouth open, as the beams of light rose up and began streaking across the night sky in a shower of falling stars. One by one, they began to explode like fireworks. Each flying spark turned into another shooting star that burst into color as well. With each burst of color, another one took its place and it showed no sign of stopping anytime soon.

It was the perfect combination, a celebration of her own magic intertwined with Diana's, mixed into a shimmering amalgam of light and color. Not even in Akko's wildest dreams could she imagine Diana's answer to be so crushingly beautiful. It was perfect.

"It's gorgeous," Akko whispered.

"Yes," she heard Diana agree. Akko turned, expecting to see Diana gazing fondly to the sky at their handwork. Instead, she was met with Diana's fond gaze staring back at her. "It is."

And then she smiled.

Just like that, Akko felt the last of her doubts melt away and she couldn't help but smile back, feeling the warmth wash over her like a wave. All her worries and fears before, they seemed so silly in comparison, when she had Diana's hand in her own.

Still smiling, the two of them turned back to regard the showering stars. Diana was silent and Akko followed suit, content to bask in the lights. She rested her head on Diana's shoulder and her smile widened when Diana shifted to bring her closer.

Nothing could make this moment more perfect. Nothing.

"I love you too," Diana whispered into her hair.

...Was it possible to die from smiling? Because it physically  _hurt_ Akko's face to smile as hard as she was now.

The two were silent for another second more, before Akko lifted her head to give Diana a wry smirk. "So. Shooting star, huh?"

Diana shrugged offhandedly, looking a tad sheepish. "It seemed apt at the moment."

"Suuuuuure. Just admit that you were awake the whole time when I said I liked you last niiiiiiiiiiiight…" Akko trailed off at the confused look Diana gave her, "but you actually weren't awake when I said that and I just outed myself didn't I, ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhh," she groaned, hanging her head. "Me and my big mouth."

Diana laughed, a tinkling sound that sent the butterflies in Akko's stomach to her entire body. "I don't think it matters much now, does it?" she said, turning to face Akko, clasping both hands over Akko's. "You would've committed to the same actions regardless, correct?"

Akko looked down at her hands and felt her mouth make another wibbly-wobbly, happy smile. "Maybe," she admitted with a huff, scuffing her toes. "You know me. I like to put on a show and all. Probably ditch the cloak next time though. That thing weighs a ton."

"I can only imagine," agreed Diana. A particularly loud firework had both of them turning to regard the display. When she spoke again, her tone was light, almost forced.

"But… if you are feeling slighted," she hesitated. Her eyes seemed to focus on a spot below Akko's nose. "I feel it only proper to rectify said slight, yes?"

The statement was so utterly Diana that Akko couldn't help roll her eyes, still smiling fondly. "That better mean something along the lines of ' _please shut up and kiss me_.'"

Diana flushed, a pretty pink color that was made all the more lovely by the lights, but there was determination in her eyes as she nodded earnestly. "E-essentially, yes."

With a knowing smile, Akko pulled away, taking a step back before putting her hands behind her back. She closed her eyes and pushed her face forward. "Ready whenever you are."

There was a pause, the sound of clothes rustling from what Akko could only assume was Diana's way of mentally preparing herself for what she was about to do. Which actually was a smart idea now that Akko thought about it because  _holy crap, Diana Cavendish,_ _ **THE**_ _Diana Cavendish was about to kiss her, holy crap, holy crap,_ _ **holy crap**_ _she wasn't ready, she wasn't ready AT ALL._

Diana stepped closer and Akko's own heart began pounding more furiously than it ever had in her life, intent to escape her chest and explode like another shooting star in the sky. She could actually feel her heartbeat in her face.

She heard Diana clear her throat before placing a hand underneath her chin and gently tilted it upwards and Akko stopped thinking, focusing only on the sound of Diana's breathing as it got closer...and closer… and…

"What are you kids doing here?"

Instantly, the two sprang apart. Akko blinked, disoriented, a little confused,  _a lot_  pissed off.

"It's against the rules for students to be on school property this late at- is that you, Akko?"

Akko blinked again, focusing on the familiar voice coming from the other side of the leyline platform. "Wha- who- wait,  _Herbie?!_ " she screeched.  _Are you freaking kidding me?! Of all times, why now?!_

The minotaur janitor in question crossed his arms sternly. "I can ask you the same thing. The staff can overlook a lot of stuff but sneaking into school property to set off some fireworks? Nuh uh."

Akko groaned in frustration. Nine Olde Witches, why now? Of all times, why now?! "Look, Herbie, I know this looks bad and honestly, I don't have a good explanation either, but would you mind going away for like, just five freaking min-  _mmph!_ "

Apparently, Diana had grown just as impatient, stepping forward to place her lips on Akko's, audience be damned. It was a first kiss that highlighted just how inexperienced they both were. Teeth clacked against each other and Akko was preeeeeety sure that their noses weren't supposed to smoosh together like that.

Yet, in that moment, with the stars falling and bursting behind them as the perfect backdrop, all she could think was  _wow, softer than her hands!_

Thank the Nine her mouth was otherwise occupied.

When they finally separated for air, Akko stumbled backward, seeing stars in her vision thanks to the oxygen deprivation. That seemed to be the theme for the night, stars in her vision.

"Wowsers," Akko mumbled, her vocabulary currently limited at the moment. "Wowsers."

Diana nodded, looking as stunned as Akko felt. "Wowsers indeed," she mimicked.

The two caught each other's eyes, and Akko erupted into giddy giggles as Diana joined her a second later. Because, wowsers, indeed? It was just so silly, yet so right to describe the bubbly feeling coursing through her from head to toe as Diana held her close.

Finally, when the laughter ran its course, Akko took the chance to peek past Diana. Herbie had covered his eyes with both hands, yelling something about rules and yadda yadda. "We're probably going to get a lifetime of detention, aren't we?"

Diana followed her gaze and frowned, more out of annoyance than worry. "Most likely."

Akko kicked up her broom, catching it like a pro. "Feel like committing a little evasion of justice before we turn ourselves in?"

Diana's frown turned into a conspiring smile. "Most definitely."

"Then hop on!  _Tia Freyre!_ " Without a problem, the broom shot up. Akko situated herself on the broom (sitting down this time because let's be real, standing while flying was plain  _terrifying_ ) and let Diana wrap her arms around her waist as the blonde witch sat side-saddle. She turned around and grinned, feeling ridiculously, stupidly happy. She didn't feel like stopping anytime soon either. This moment in time was everything Akko had ever wanted, and more.

"You ready? Let's ride the stars!"

And Diana smiled right back at her, brighter and more captivating than any star in the night sky. "Together!"

"Together!"

And with that, the two took off, blazing a dazzling trail for the shooting stars around them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: I'm done! That's it! Shooting Star is complete, after so many plus words and months, I am completely, 100% don-!
> 
> Also Me: HANNA BARBARA OMAKE DO IT YOU WON'T
> 
> Me: ...Shit


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything goes as well as you'd expect.

Hanna and Barbara were still going at it.

After a whole three hours and some change of nonstop cuddling, giggling and being disgustingly cute, Sucy wasn't sure if her little social experiment with the LoveLove venom had been a success or a failure. Sure, on the one hand, Akko and Diana had finally been forced to confront their rather obvious feelings for each other instead of skirting around the edges like they had been for the longest (frustrating) time, so that could be considered a small victory. And Sucy herself had managed to avoid nabbing a detention in the process, another definite bonus.

But on the other hand and the most critical part of the experiment, testing the effects of diluted LoveLove venom in actual human participants? Those results were frustratingly inconclusive.

Hmm. Maybe a second round of tests was in order.

Sucy watched, chin in the palm of her hand, the very picture of affected boredom, as Hanna nipped at a spot beneath Barbara's chin before darting back with a coy giggle. Akko had left an hour ago, muttering something about fireworks and asking Professor Ursula to borrow some sort of suit, and Lotte had tagged along, taking Amanda's team with her, which left only Sucy and the disgusting lovebirds in the suite.

Sucy sighed. She picked up a relatively intact pastry off the ground and sniffed it. Ughh. Way too sweet. With another sigh, she dropped it. If she had known that dinner was going to be thrown out the window by Amanda, she would've packed some (edible) deathcaps to nibble on. Science was long, unforgiving work and her own contributions to the field were criminally underappreciated.

Another delighted squeal drew her attention back to the two, and Sucy rolled her eyes. As entertaining as it was observing her two guinea pigs, their scientific usefulness had run its due course.

"Are you two done yet?" she called out. Sucy didn't care what Hanna and Barbara did, really, but for the sake of keeping her test case as accurate as possible, she would have to put a stop to their fun. "I'm hungry."

Barbara paused long enough in her nuzzling of Hanna's cheek to glare indignantly at Sucy, as if she had asked her for a kidney transplant as opposed to food. "God, you're still here?" she returned to her nuzzling. "Don't you have like, a carnivorous mushroom you need to feed or something on your schedule?"

Hanna's response was much more succinct. "Buzz off, Sucy."

"Yeah, like, split."

With another sigh, this one long-suffering, Sucy took out her pocket watch and clicked it open. She tried being nice, she really did.

"You two do know that the venom wears off after two hours, don't you?"

Hanna and Barbara froze. "Say what?" said Hanna.

Oh. Right. Sucy was the only one who knew that. "Yeah. Two hours," she said, pocketing the watch. She continued, heedless of the mounting expressions of horror on Hanna and Barabara's faces. "I tested it on a mouse and its reflection before we came here." She stopped to think before correcting herself. "Actually, it should be even less time for the two of you since you shared the same cup."

Hanna and Barbara weren't listening. They quickly leaped apart, as if actually stung, and began rubbing furiously at their lips and face in a futile attempt to purge themselves.

"BARBARA, WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY ANYTHING?!"

"Me?! Why didn't  _you_  say something?"

"Don't put this on me! Do you have any idea how awkward it would've been if I stopped and you just kept going?

"Like, not at all, because we would've both stopped then!

"Oh don't act like you weren't enjoying it!"

Barbara threw her hands up. "Oh my gawd, you are so full of yourself. You think that makes you the queen of the school just because I liked it? Well, newsflash! It doesn't!"

"Well, newsflash, right back at you! In fact, I- wait," Hanna did a double take, thrown off her stride. "You actually... liked it?"

"Like, duh! I...uh. Oh." Barbara stopped mid-sentence, hand hanging awkwardly in the air, looking like she realized only then what she had just admitted. "Uhhhhhhhhhhhh…" her cheeks lit up like a stop sign. "Like… I guess so?" she mumbled.

Sucy raised an eyebrow.

Hanna's face was a mirror of Barbara's. She opened her mouth, then closed it. Open. Close. "W-well," she crossed her arms, looking straight down at the floor. "I-I guess I liked it too."

Barbara's head perked. "Really?"

"Really," admitted Hanna with a shy smile that Barbara unconsciously returned.

Sucy glanced at the two of them. "Do you two want to make sure, just in case? I still have some leftover LoveLove venom for just-"

" _ **OUT**_." Hanna and Barbara said at the same time.

Sucy just sighed. So, criminally, underappreciated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: Actually, all things considered, everything went pretty well.
> 
> To each viewer who took time out of their busy schedule to read my silly story, thank you! I appreciate every like/review/view and I'm super grateful to all the love and attention you gave Shooting Star. So, once again, thank you very much!
> 
> Also, if you ever want to see what I'm writing next or just want to chat about LWA or other shared interests, you can find me on tumblr at zenzam/tumblr.com. I'm pretty awful at it so please bear with me! Thank you again and I hope to see you soon with my next fic!


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